The Mercurial Mask
by Karasu Yurei
Summary: A new gang comes to town looking for something special, and is willing to turn all of Ikebukuro upside down until they find it. -A co-authored work.-
1. Prolog

**Warnings: Maybe some violence, a little slash though nothing overt (Kida/Mikado slash only, there will be no Shizuo/Izaya, just FYI), some profanity. Nothing serious on this one, really.  
**  
_Disclaimer: We do not own DRRR! and wish we were that clever. DRRR! belongs to all the respective people who actually own it, not that I know who any of those people are. But it's a safe bet that they aren't us._

Extra disclaimer: Fic is based on _**anime canon only**__. We have neither read the novels nor the manga, though we would like to at some point, if we can find sizable chunks of either one translated into English. For the time being, however, anime canon only, which means if we try to explain something that was explained in the books and guess wrong, it isn't our fault. =D_

In a word...: How many DRRR! fics do you think start with the premise 'let's beat Izaya up!' Don't get me wrong, I heart Izaya, totally, but I spent much of the last four-five episodes shouting, "Damn you, Izaya! Die in a fire!" for the way he was messing with people. Anyway, this fic is actually based on the premise "why do you think Izaya refers to 'humans' as if he's not one of them?"

An actual summary: A new gang comes to town looking for something special, and is willing to turn all of Ikebukuro upside down until they find it.

Additional notes: This is our first attempt at this fandom, obvs, so if we're a little shaky on some of the characterization or just plain make some shit up, please to forgive us. Also, a word on names: Kida Masaomi is often referred to as Kida in fandom, and to be honest we usually refer to him as Kida when talking about him, but it seemed weird to call him Kida in the prose when, by the end of the series, nearly *everyone* refers to him by his first name, and everyone *else* is referred to by first name even in fandom. So we're using Masaomi. If it seems weird, sorry. We're still getting used to it ourselves.

Okay! That's enough babbling from me! On with the show!  


Prologue

Not long after the fuss had died down, Mikado found himself sitting alone in Masaomi's hospital room, staring at his friend's face, peaceful now in sleep. He didn't know where Anri had gone, and though he wanted to be worried, he just didn't have the emotional energy. Anri could take care of herself, and he would ask her later where she had gone. Hopefully, he would get an answer. He was tired of secrets.

He didn't mind being alone. He had always been good at it. Yumasaki and Karisawa were gone, off doing whatever they did when they were by themselves (which Mikado didn't particularly want to know about). He glanced up as the door slid open and Kadota came in, looking as serious as he ever did.

"How is he?" Kadota asked.

Mikado's hands clenched into fists, resting on his knees. "The doctor said he would be all right," he said, and stole another glance at his friend. It seemed that somehow, Masaomi was both tougher and more fragile than he ever could have imagined. "Um . . . thank you for all your help," he added, bowing his head to the older man.

Kadota sat down in the chair next to him, keeping his voice pitched low to avoid disturbing Masaomi, though they were both fairly sure that nothing short of a stampede of elephants would wake the teenager. "No problem," he said.

Mikado fidgeted. "I was thinking . . . everything I did seems like the wrong thing. Maybe this . . . isn't right for me. You did a much better job with the Dollars than I ever could have. Maybe you should be the one in charge."

Kadota leaned back in his chair with his hands tucked behind his head and glanced over at the teenager. "Nah, that won't work," he said. "Part of the reason I joined – the reason a lot of people joined – was because no one is in charge. There are no rules and regulations. I don't like giving orders any more than I like taking them. Don't get me wrong; you're our founder and that means you have our respect. But don't think that we won't ignore you if you give an order we don't like."

A slight smile touched Mikado's face. "Like to disappear?"

"Yeah." Kadota laughed. "Although we did, in a way. We became someone else for a little while."

Mikado nodded. "Thank you," he said again. After a brief moment of silence, he said, "What do you think will happen now?"

"Things will quiet down. Horada will go to jail along with the worst of his cronies. The Dollars will go back to being colorless." He glanced over at Mikado again. "But your identity as the founder is a secret that can't be taken back. Horada put a price on your head. Enough people know now that you'll never be able to go back to being anonymous."

"I think . . . I think that's okay," Mikado said.

Another nod from Kadota. "Things will quiet down," he repeated. "Then something else will happen. Everything will build back up, something will explode, and then it'll go back to normal. That's Ikebukuro."

Mikado thought back to when he had arrived in Ikebukuro, back to how lost and anxious he had been, to Masaomi telling him to overcome the obstacles and become 'a fine Ikebukuroer', whatever that was. He smiled again, watching Masaomi sleep. "I'll be waiting," he said.

~ ~ ~ ~ 


	2. Chapter 1

**Warnings: Maybe some violence, a little slash though nothing overt (Kida/Mikado slash only, there will be no Shizuo/Izaya, just FYI), some profanity. Nothing serious on this one, really.**

Chapter One

It always amazed Celty, over and over again, what her body remembered, and what her mind could do with no brain near by. Like how her index finger automatically went to scratch at her temple. He body remembered that her head wasn't on her neck, but more than likely held in front of her, so that was where her hand went. Then, only after, did it go up to the appropriate spot on her helmet. So many things missing.

How Shinra could love her this way was no less amazing, though she supposed that had more to do with the heart and nearly nothing to do with the brain or mind. She knew she still had her heart. Right where it belonged. Even if it was just a flutter of shadows instead of a beating organ. It would hurt when Shinra was gone at the end of his human lifetime.

Sometimes her heart remembered things, or at least the impression of things, that her mind knew. Like there was a way, if you were willing to give up enough, to make a human like a fae. But only her head knew what had to be given. So, for Shinra and because of Shinra, her heart was happy without her head.

If she wanted to stay that way, she would have to find it. Before his fragile human lifetime was up and he took her heart with him.

But that had nothing to do with what she was thinking about at the moment, so she set it aside. Right now, as her gloved finger rubbed at her helmet next to the visor, she was worried about another life that might be ending before it had lived out its full span.

Sometimes Izaya made her happy she didn't have a head. If she did have it, she'd have to bang it into a wall just to stop herself from strangling him. Usually that was because he was just being himself. This time though, it was because she was pretty sure he was not himself.

Because one thing Izaya never was, was in trouble. Except he was now.

Namie was shelling out good money, most likely Izaya's money, for her to find the man. She hadn't been able to. All she had found was his knife kicked into the corner of a place where he had been but no longer was.

Shadows swirled and the heavy weight of it dropped into her hand. She considered it, in an odd way, to be a representation of Izaya himself. Small enough that it didn't look dangerous at first glance, but sharp enough to make the air bleed. Most people only found that out too late. It disappeared up her sleeve again and she looked out over the city.

She couldn't figure out where he had been taken, so the next best way to find him was to figure out where he would go. Where he would go if he was weaponless, if he didn't want to be found, if he needed someone he could trust at his back who would ask nothing of him, because Izaya hated owing people.

There were very few people in the city that generous. Even fewer that could offer any sort of protection. Her posture straightened as the answer came to her. Less than a moment later, she and her horse sped off through the city.

There was no one in front of Russia Sushi, but Simon greeted her with his usual bright smile when she stepped through the door. "Picking up take-out for Shinra-sensei?" the large man asked. She canted her helmet to the side ever so slightly at the unexpected question and then nodded once. "It's in the back. Such a large order is sometimes difficult to package up." He pointed to a small door at the back of the restaurant before going back to serving customers.

She walked through the kitchen and into what she assumed must be an employee lounge. Izaya was spread out over the battered sofa. As usual, his posture and demeanor displayed that he didn't have a care in the world. It was in sharp contrast to his appearance. His face was darkened with bruises, swollen to the point where one eye couldn't open. He was holding a bag of ice against his abdomen, pressed there by both arms so he could ice both his wrists and his ribs at the same time. One leg was propped up on a footstool - casually, to be sure, but obviously put there so no weight would rest on it, and so it could be kept elevated.

More than that, he was dirty. Celty didn't think she had ever seen him dirty - messed up after scuffles with Shizuo, yes, but not like this. His hair was matted and tangled. There was a smear of grime across one cheek. His clothes were tattered, even shredded in some places, his trademark jacket gone, and what was left covered with dirt and muck, like he had had to crawl through a sewer.

Celty took a moment to observe the disaster that Izaya had been turned into. With most people it wouldn't have bothered her that much. You play with gangs, you get hurt. But Izaya? He always seemed to float out of the way of any danger. Despite the attitude he was projecting, this wasn't him. Someone had tried very, very hard to dull what should have been painfully sharp.

She dropped into an easy crouch so they were more or less at eye level with each other, or would have been if she had eyes. With a swirl of shadow like a magic trick, the weight of his knife dropped into her palm again and she held it out for him to take.

There was a look that might have been called gratitude in a normal person plastered all over Izaya's face for the most fleeting of moments. He accepted the knife and made as if to tuck it away into his jacket pocket before remembering that he wasn't wearing his jacket. It disappeared into his pants pocket instead. Then the corners of his mouth turned up in his usual smirk. "And the excellent courier arrives. I thought I told Simon not call anybody."

Celty was glad that Izaya, unlike Shinra, couldn't read her mood and expression from every minute twitch she had. She was almost shocked that Izaya had even let that expression be born on his face, but to let him see that would have been insulting to him. If he had expressed it on purpose, she would take it in the spirit in which he offered it, and not make a big deal out of it. If it had slipped, she didn't think he needed to be reminded about how off things really were.

With a practiced flick of her wrist and a flicker of shadow, Celty's PDA fell into her hand. She typed quickly and then held it out for Izaya to read. 'He didn't call anyone. I found you anyway.' She didn't want to ruin Izaya's trust in Simon. His trust, she knew, was a rare thing.

"Ah," was all Izaya said in reply to that. His gaze seemed almost blurry for a moment. Then, without a delay in which Celty might ask any questions, he said, "Shall we go?"

Celty typed a message to Shinra before making the PDA disappear. She stood and offered Izaya a hand. Looking at his leg, she knew he would need a shoulder too, but with Izaya it was better to start small. With careless grace, Izaya shoved the bag of ice onto the floor and reached out to take her hand, revealing more dark bruises and scrape marks on his wrist. Celty closed her fingers around his hand and wondered what had made those marks. It wasn't the usual duct tape, rope, zip-ties or even handcuffs that the underbelly of Ikebukuro favored. Some of the marks were almost like burns. After a moment, she put her free hand under his elbow. That would injure his pride less than a face plant would.

Izaya got to his feet a little more slowly than usual, keeping all his weight on his good leg. The smirk had disappeared and his face was set in a fixed lack of expression. Celty took in the flat expression and the way he shifted his weight and decided he would need more than a hand on his elbow. The trick with Izaya was to not give him a chance to protest or argue. She ducked under his arm so it lay across her shoulders and was careful to hold his arm above the injured wrist. Her other arm wrapped around his waist. She was glad her clothes were actually made of shadow and magic and couldn't be stained with whatever he had had to slog through. She gave him a moment to adjust and then tipped her helmet as if to ask if he was ready to go. He smirked at her, though it wasn't quite up to par with his normal expression, and said, "I'd better be careful. We'll make Shinra jealous!"

Her shoulders shook a little in silent laughter. It was true. Shinra was so easy to ruffle on the surface, but underneath she was sure he knew better. She took a careful step forward. Izaya hopped with her, and for the first time, a hiss of pain escaped him as his ankle was jarred. She tried to take more of his weight, but there wasn't much else she could do aside from asking Simon to carry him, and his ego would never survive. She couldn't even offer words of comfort with her hands full, though she was sure, had she been able to say them, Izaya would have laughed it off. She took another step forward. The kindest thing she could do now, not that one usually associated kindness and Izaya, was to get him to Shinra to have his wounds treated, his bones set, and his bloodstream loaded with painkillers.

"Hm, you know what would make me the happiest person in Ikebukuro right now?" Izaya asked, his voice casual, as if nothing whatsoever was wrong. "If your bike was parked in the back."

Celty shrugged a little under his arm and then nodded once, conceding. Sometimes she wished her horse was a normal living creature, so she could reward it with all the things she knew horses liked. By the time they made their way out of the back entrance, her horse was standing there in its guise as a motorcycle as if it had been parked there the entire time. Normally, she would have gotten on and had her passenger climb on after, but she didn't think that would work all that well in this case. She was convinced that Izaya wouldn't be able to stay upright on his own, so she stopped beside the bike and gestured for him to climb on.

Without a word, Izaya carefully lifted his bad leg over the bike and slid on, perching on the very back of the seat so there would be room for Celty in front of him. He looked a little distracted now, either deep in thought about what he was going to do to whoever had done this to him, or just hazing out from the pain.

Celty waited for him to settle and then her hands came up near his head. The shadows pooled for a second and then as she motioned like she was putting a helmet on him; it formed around his head and face. He wasn't allowed to argue the point, and didn't try. After that she climbed onto the bike and waited for Izaya to move closer to her. He did so without compunction, even leaning against her a little for support. "Drive safe," he said, with the usual mocking note in his voice.

She shook her head a little and with a wave of her hand, shadows wrapped him in what seemed to be a black leather jacket. Normally she would have trusted him to keep his balance, but not at the moment. She reached back and pulled his arms to wrap around her, still being careful of his wrists and those wounds that bothered her so much. There was something there, something about them that made her reach for memories that she just didn't have without her head. She didn't expect him to have much in the way of strength and let the shadows do most of the work for him.

Not much later, she pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building she and Shinra lived in. Normally, she would have just brought the bike in, but this time she waited, looking for Shinra. He was waiting downstairs, having received her text, with a somewhat worried expression on his face. When he saw her pull up, the worry intensified for a brief moment as he took in Izaya's battered state before disappearing, replaced with an expression of excitement. "Orihara-kun! What on earth happened? You don't get hurt like this! I have to document this for science!" He whipped a video camera out of his pocket and flipped it on.

Izaya gave him a look that suggested he wanted Shinra's head mounted above his desk, before returning to his usual smirk. "I'm afraid you're doomed to be disappointed, Shinra. I'm absolutely fine."

Celty shook her head and whipped out her PDA. There was swift typing and then she held it for Izaya to see. 'Then maybe you'd like to walk upstairs without help?' Then, after having the shadows loosen their hold, she climbed off the bike, though she was nice enough to make sure Izaya didn't fall.

"It warms my heart to see you showing such concern for me, after everything we've been through," Izaya said, with a grin on his face as he slid off the bike behind her, still careful not to let his left foot bear any weight.

'More than half of those events are your fault. You are a professional trouble maker.' The PDA then disappeared up her sleeve and she again ducked under his arm, before waving Shinra over to help from the other side.

Izaya chuckled quietly. "Ever the excellent courier," he murmured, but allowed the two of them to support the majority of his weight as they shuffled towards the elevator.

It was slow going to get to the apartment but eventually she and Shinra were able to set Izaya down in the spare bedroom. It was mostly for those Shinra patched up but wanted to keep an eye on for a while, and that was a fairly low number as he was not in the habit of inviting trouble into their home.

Despite all his efforts and his iron will, the relief on Izaya's face was practically tangible when they helped him sit down. He let out a breath and even gave them a nod of thanks.

"What on earth happened?" Shinra repeated his query, grabbing his bag. He gestured for Izaya to take off his shirt.

"Oh, you know," Izaya said, stripping it off and dropping it on the floor. "I don't think the new gang in town likes me very much."

Celty had darted off to get a couple of wet washcloths and some towels to help peel the dirt and grime off of their, dare she think it, friend. She set her load down on the table in the room and after a second showed the PDA to him. 'Why? What happened?' There was a pause as she considered who she was talking to. 'In detail.'

"They sent me an invite," Izaya said. "I went to see what they were all about. Turned out they were really more interested in information than in me personally. What kind of thing is that to say about a person?" He winced as Shinra felt along his ribs. "Hey, easy on the merchandise there."

There was a pause, then 'maybe one of them had met you before.' She shook her head a little, trying to stay on topic. 'What did they want to know? Why did they hurt you?' Another pause and the screen was cleared. 'How did they manage to hold you?'

"Oh, it's just the usual," Izaya said, as Shinra carefully cleaned out the wounds on his chest and abdomen. "They want to start a gang war. They've heard all about those spooky Dollars, want to know everything about them, how to find them, who's in charge." He shook his head. "No originality."

Celty nearly dropped the PDA. 'I have to find Mikado!'

"Relax," Izaya said. "I didn't tell them." He even looked faintly offended that Celty might think he had.

She relaxed, almost slumping, and then stiffened. There was furious typing and then, 'You tried to use Mikado to start a war once before.'

"A war of my choosing," Izaya pointed out. "And actually, I was more using Masaomi-kun; Namie-san is the one who got Mikado-kun involved."

'Not comforting.' The PDA appeared in front of him and then was snatched back. More typing followed. 'What were they like? How did they catch you? How did you get away?' She gave him a second to read and then pulled back. The screen was cleared and she tapped away; this time it was shoved at Shinra. 'There's something I can't remember. About his wrists.'

"His wrists?" Shinra examined them carefully, pulling the light over so he could see them better. "These are odd looking wounds. What did these?"

Izaya huffed out a breath in a sigh. "They were like handcuffs. But they weren't handcuffs. Whenever I tried to get away, they tightened. Hurt like crazy," he added nonchalantly, ignoring all of Celty's questions.

Celty's shoulders tightened and she fought off the urge to bean Izaya upside the head with her PDA. Her frustration wasn't entirely his fault. The typing was furious. 'I can't remember!' It was shoved at both of them. Then without warning, her fingers, while still careful not to hurt him, were moving Izaya's hair out of the way and running over the shell of his ear.

Even Izaya seemed taken aback by this. "Um . . ."

"Celty?" Shinra asked, though he got out of her way, kneeling next to Izaya and take off his left shoe and sock.

'Normal. Human.' It was typed almost absently and she pulled her hand back away from Izaya and held it to her chest, unsure of what to do with herself. After a second, she carefully set the PDA down on the table – it was a gift from Shinra after all – and walked out of the room.

Once she was gone, Shinra focused on Izaya with narrowed eyes. "You really didn't tell them about Mikado-kun?"

"I really didn't," Izaya said. "Not saying that I wouldn't have, if they'd offered to pay me instead of making demands, but as it happens, I didn't."

"Good." Shinra gently squeezed Izaya's ankle. He let out a wheeze of pain between his teeth. "Not broken. Just badly sprained. Walking on it probably didn't help."

"Didn't have a lot of options," Izaya said.

Shinra nodded and began wrapping it. He thought about pointing out that, as much as Izaya might try to hide it, he had done more than just 'not bothered' to tell the new gang about Mikado's identity. He had actively withheld the information. The wounds he had were too methodical to have come from anything other than a purposeful beating. Whether Izaya had refused to tell them to protect Mikado, or simply out of spite because they wouldn't play by his rules, Shinra wasn't sure. But either way, he had refused.

Celty listened to all this as she stood in the hallway. The helmet was tossed onto the sofa with a bounce. Shinra liked her better without it, and at the moment it just made her angry. She wanted her memories in her head, not an empty fake. This time it was important. Not just lost history. This time it was about a friend.

She stood at the window looking out for a couple of minutes and then at her own headless reflection. The memories were gone and for now it couldn't be helped. She turned and made her way over to the closet. Izaya would need clean clothes and she was pretty sure that Shizuo had, at some point or another, left some pajamas there. They'd be loose and comfortable for Izaya and his many injuries. If she had been physically able she would have smirked. Izaya would be appalled when he found out. Which wouldn't be until tomorrow, if things went her way.

Shinra glanced up as she came back into the spare room. Izaya didn't. His gaze had gone somewhat glassy. "Oh, thanks," Shinra said, as she put the pile of clothing down.

She nodded, or gave the smoky equivalent, which she was sure Shinra could read. Then she picked up the PDA. 'Is he going to be okay?'

"Yeah, the wounds are serious, but nothing critical." Shinra smiled at her. "Could you do me a favor and get a glass of water?"

"No," Izaya said, stirring slightly. "No painkillers. They could still be looking for me, and the last thing I need to be is sedated. Why do you think I went to Russia Sushi instead of here?"

Celty typed and then set the PDA down on the bed for him to read while she went and got the requested water. 'It's safe here. I made sure.' She came back and held out the glass to him.

Seeing his skeptical look, Shinra said, "It really is. She did this faerie mojo thing that keeps anyone from finding the apartment if they don't already know where it is. Anyway, trust me, you're going to want the painkillers when I start stitching up the lacerations on your stomach, to say nothing to what I'm going to have to do to your hands. You have three broken metacarpals."

Izaya gave him a stare. Shinra smiled back cheerfully. After a long stalemate, Izaya grudgingly accepted the glass of water and the pills that appeared in Shinra's hand like magic, gulping them down. "Not a word to Shizu-chan," he said.

'My lips are sealed.'

Shinra laughed merrily at this. Izaya just rolled his eyes and waited for the drugs to kick in, but allowed himself to relax. Whether he wanted to owe Shinra and Celty or not, he knew he was in good hands. Seeing this, Shinra went immediately into serious mode, the laughter on his face clearing off as he saw to some minor things while he waited for the drugs to dull Izaya's senses. He cleaned the wounds on his wrists and applied some antibiotic ointment, then wrapped them in bandages. He offered Izaya one of the washcloths to get the worst of the grime off his face.

Once Izaya was properly limp, staring up at the ceiling in dreamy lassitude and no longer fit to protest, Shinra got an IV in him to start fluids and glucose. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Izaya had been gone, but he was clearly dehydrated. Izaya didn't voice any annoyance, so Shinra began work on the more major injuries.

It had been the previous day that Namie had called him, wanting to hire Celty to find Izaya. She hadn't seen him in three days. This was of no particular concern; Izaya would often be gone for days or even weeks at a time, seeing to his business. What did concern her – and Shinra – was that she couldn't reach him either by cell or by text. Izaya was always wired, always reachable, in case something interesting came up. Shinra checked with Celty and she mentioned that he hadn't been in the chat room for several days, either.

Namie had offered to pay double the standard rate, but Shinra suspected that Celty would have taken the job anyway. Neither she nor Shinra had any particular love for Izaya, but they both understood that he was what he was, and all the griping in the world wouldn't change that. Ikebukuro would be different without him; it would somehow be less. In any case, any person or group of persons who could pose a threat to Izaya was bad news for all of them in the long term. They all understood that.

Shinra glanced up at some point to grab another tool and saw that Celty had wandered off, presumably bored with the proceedings. Shinra guessed that she was going to go online and check on Mikado, though he wasn't sure how late it was. He always lost track of time when he was working. Her absence and Izaya's dazed stare offered him a golden opportunity that he hadn't thought to ever get.

"Hey, Orihara-kun, can I ask you something?"

"Mm," Izaya replied.

Shinra's hands never slowed or stopped what they were doing. "Do you know where Celty's head is?"

"Mm," Izaya said again.

Shinra was pretty sure that was a yes; if the answer had been no, he would have put up a protest. "Is it safe?"

"Mm."

Relaxing, Shinra began to examine Izaya's hands. He heard the other man mumble something and said, "What was that, Orihara-kun?"

A long pause. Then Izaya slurred out, "Fuckers took my jacket. They're gonna pay for that."

Shinra smiled slightly. Izaya's eyes fluttered and then closed as he finally succumbed to exhaustion. It didn't surprise Shinra. Izaya had been missing for several days, probably hadn't eaten during that time, possibly hadn't slept. There was blood loss and pain and a strong dose of narcotics to contend with. Izaya was strong, he was fast, he was sharp – but he was still human.

Shinra recalled Celty's frustration as she examined Izaya's ear with a touch of unease. Izaya was still human – wasn't he?

~ ~ ~ ~ 


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Some liberties taken with things that aren't explained in the series, like why Mikado lives in a hole in the wall, and what happens after Masaomi comes back from his extended vacation with Saki. Also, we weren't one hundred percent sure how to format the chat room conversations, so we went with simplicity._

Because I think I forgot to mention: this takes place about 8-9 months after the close of the series.

Thanks for your kind words on the first chapter! Comments are appreciated!

Chapter Two

At first, Mikado thought it might be his imagination. He had seen several of the Dollars, those with whom he was on a nodding acquaintance, on the way to school. Then, when he and Masaomi and Anri had eaten lunch outside by the school, he had seen several others and even said hello to them. They said hello back. Now the three of them were walking home from school. A group of Dollars was walking behind them, on the other side of the street so as to be a little less conspicuous.

When Anri turned the corner and bid them farewell, the group casually split off, with two of the Dollars going the same way as Anri and the rest continuing to follow Mikado and Masaomi. Mikado glanced over at his friend to see if he had noticed, though he was positive that Masaomi had. He didn't miss things like that.

Being stalked by strangers would have made him nervous; as it was, this just seemed odd. He knew these people. They weren't precisely friends, but they were all Dollars, and if the Dollars had one rule, it was that they looked out for each other. Why was his own gang suddenly following him around?

Masaomi had very much noticed. Not only had he noticed that they were being followed by Dollars, but that some of his own gang, the Yellow Scarves, were popping up here and there to watch them from street corners. To make things even more strange, none of them were wearing their colors. He knew that they didn't all wear their colors all the time. That could get a person fired from their job or thrown out of school. He was the only one that was constantly marked. Even in school, he tied the scarf to his backpack. But still, it was odd for the gang to be taking action and keeping quiet about it. It was even weirder that they were taking action without his permission or knowledge. Ever since he had returned to Ikebukuro and reformed the Scarves, he had put in effort to keep tight control of his gang. He nodded to the next member he saw and received a respectful nod in return. So it wasn't hostile, whatever it was. He tucked his hands behind his head and spun to face Mikado, walking backwards. "Is this how the President of America feels? With all of his secret guards following him?"

Mikado shot him a glance and smiled despite himself. "Yes," he said. "I'm sure this is exactly how he feels." He shifted uncomfortably. "Are you . . . you're not keeping secrets from me again, are you?"

One hand dropped to cover his heart. "Mikado, I'm shocked that you would think such a thing of me, your best and most trusted friend!" The melodrama flooded off of the blond. Then suddenly, both arms dropped and he tucked his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunching in just a little and his face completely serious. "No. I wouldn't do that. I'm just as confused as you."

"Mm." Mikado was already deep in thought. Masaomi's joking aside, it did look like they had something of an honor guard. Something was obviously going on that made the Dollars believe that their founder wasn't safe. Someone was causing trouble somewhere. He frowned as something suddenly occurred to him. "I haven't seen Kanra-san in the chat room for the past few days."

He always referred to Izaya as Kanra-san when they were talking about things that happened online. Despite Mikado's generally benevolent nature, he still had trouble forgiving Izaya for everything that had happened the past autumn. Not so much for what Izaya had done to him, but for what Izaya had done to his friends. Since Izaya clearly wasn't going anywhere, it was easier to avoid him in real life and think of him as a different person when he was online.

"Maybe Kanra-san finally died." Masaomi might have been a bit too cheerful about saying that. He went along with the 'Kanra' business because he simply didn't want anyone knowing he still had any sort of association going on with Izaya.

Mikado gave his friend a rather sober look. "Maybe he did."

That brought Masaomi back down to earth. "You don't really think . . . Celty-san would have said something. Right?" He was a little unsure. "And who would dare? He topples entire gangs with single phone calls."

"I know all that, but . . . you've got to admit that it's pretty weird that he hasn't been around. Normally we can't get rid of him." Mikado's jaw set in a familiar, stubborn expression. "Either way, something's obviously going on that involves us but nobody's bothered to tell us about it."

Masaomi nodded. "It's not just the Dollars." He canted his head as he saw another Yellow Scarf disappear. "It's my gang, too. And they don't want to be seen."

Mikado shifted. "Think we should ask in person? Or go back to my place and see if anyone's around to ask online?"

"Online. I think if we go anywhere unexpected, we'll give twelve different people heart failure." A pause. "Besides, I want a snack."

Mikado laughed. "You're so weird. There's nothing to eat at my apartment and you know it."

Masaomi started poking at him then. "It's a wonder you don't starve. We'll get take-out."

"Okay. Quit that!" Mikado smacked him on the arm. "Cut it out. You're such a kid."

Masaomi laughed and wrapped an arm around Mikado's neck. Then he pinched his cheek. "If you act too serious, you'll get wrinkles and ruin your boyish good looks."

With a long-suffering sigh, Mikado let it go at that. He knew that the more he protested, the worse Masaomi would get (though in truth, he wouldn't have changed his friend for anything in the world). He also knew that they were both too keyed up to relax, and trying to get Masaomi to be serious was doomed for failure. He flipped open his cell phone to check his e-mail just on reflex, even though it hadn't signaled that he had any, and quickened his pace.

Masaomi kept pace with his friend until they reached Mikado's apartment. He waited until his friend took his keys out and held out his hand for them. Mikado gave him a questioning look, but handed them over. Masaomi took them with a little shrug, entirely serious again, and put the key in the lock. "Just because we don't know what's going on doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful." He turned the knob and pulled the keys from the door. The motion was entirely casual, but he fisted the keys with a couple peeking out between his fingers.

Mikado could only think of one answer to that statement coupled with that gesture. "If you get blood on my floor, you're paying for new tatami mats." Then he wondered if he really was becoming altogether too blasé about this violence thing, just as Izaya had predicted.

". . . I can live with that." He eased the door open and took a look around before moving through the apartment. It was, thankfully, empty. He gave Mikado his bright smile and held his hand out for his friend to take his keys.

"Thanks," Mikado said, accepting them. "You want to order the food? I'll see who's online."

"Sure." Masaomi went over to Mikado's kitchen nook and opened the fridge. Peering inside, he saw only a single can of soda. He knew Mikado lived on a pretty tight budget and got all bent out of shape if people offered any sort of charity, but Masaomi was a sneaky person when he wanted to be.

He had figured out how to give his friend a hand without having it snapped at. Food. Since Mikado couldn't afford to feed Masaomi, that meant Masaomi had to buy his own food. And if he happened to order things that came with lots of leftovers, well, Mikado just seemed to pretend not to notice. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it. Crime did, in fact, pay fairly well. He pulled out his phone and dialed their favorite pizza place. Ordering two pizzas wouldn't be overlooked, but he could sneak an extra large with an alarming amount of toppings on it under the wire, and a bottle of soda just to round things out.

Studiously ignoring everything that Masaomi was doing in his apartment, Mikado flipped his monitor on and logged onto the Dollars' website. Nobody was in the chat room. The message boards were fairly quiet, too, and nobody there was discussing anything of interest. He considered this. That meant that whatever was going on, it was being done by private e-mail. They were specifically trying to keep Mikado from finding out.

With the food on its way, Masaomi flopped down on to the floor next to his friend. "That looks pretty boring."

"Mm," Mikado agreed, tapping absently at his mouse as he flipped through the site. "Kanra-san's last post was almost five days ago. Everything else looks like it's been quiet, but normal quiet, not weird quiet. Where do you think we should start? Celty-san, probably?"

"She would be my first choice," Masaomi agreed. She seemed nice and she didn't play games. As a bonus, she was pretty attractive for a woman with no head.

Mikado nodded, already typing. He decided that, since everyone seemed invested in keeping this quiet, he would send her a private e-mail instead of posting anywhere on the site. After a few moments to debate what to say, he wrote, 'Celty-san, I hope I am not bothering you. Masaomi and I have noticed strange things happening and were wondering if you knew anything about it.' He kept the message purposefully vague, not wanting to narrow down the options too much. 'Please let me know if you're aware of anything going on. Thank you, Mikado.' He glanced over his shoulder at Masaomi to make sure he didn't have anything to add before he hit send.

Masaomi teetered back and forth on his rear end for a moment and then let himself fall backwards onto the mats, arms stretched out to the side, bones loose. His best friend lived in something of a slum, but Masaomi much preferred spending his time there than in his own home. Here, he at least knew he was welcome. "I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. Things have been pretty quiet since that mess with the Blue Squares and the Dollars." He referred to the gang by that title because in the end, even though they had been wearing Masaomi's colors, it hadn't been his gang.

Mikado nodded and sent the message. "Kadota-san said something like that. That it would be quiet for a while, and then things would start to happen again."

Masaomi turned his head to face Mikado, his blonde hair going everywhere. "Kadota-san is pretty smart. He's been doing this longer than we have." He grinned. "He's _old_." Then he shook his head, going serious again. "We're all like a pack of dogs. A new one comes in and has to challenge for the top. It either wins or is forced down and thing are steady until a new dog comes in."

Mikado frowned, thinking this over. "By that reasoning, things should be unstable right now. There's no 'top dog', as you put it."

A hand reached out and gave Mikado a playful shove. "Yes there is. The Dollars."

Mikado blinked at him, with honest confusion on his face. "But the Dollars aren't really like any other gang. We don't try to be in control of anything."

"That's what's letting you stay on top. There's nothing to fight, but you're," he paused, clearly accustomed to being separated, "_we're_ everywhere. It's hard to argue, when you could be facing everything from a street thug to a cop. And, uh, did you forget that you have the infamous Black Biker and Shizuo-san?"

With an embarrassed laugh, Mikado rubbed his hand over the back of his head. "I guess I'm still not used to thinking about things in that way."

Masaomi sat back up then, but he seemed rather determined to not support his own weight and instead rested his chin on Mikado's shoulder so they could both look at the Dollars message board. He reached out a finger and poked at one of the handle names. "Who knows. This could be the Emperor, or, or, an old lady. Maybe even a super model." The doorbell rang and he popped up as if he were on springs. "Food!"

Mikado watched him go, his fingers briefly brushing over the place where Masaomi's chin had rested on him, feeling the weight of it, the solidity. In a city like Ikebukuro, sometimes it was important to stop and remember what was _real_. What mattered. It was the same reason he didn't protest his friend being ready to stab someone with his keys, or the fact that he saw his hand rest against the pocket where he kept his knife before answering the door to get the pizza. He didn't mind if Masaomi could be violent. That was who he was, and he felt safe around Masaomi. That was real. It was important.

Lost in thought, he almost didn't notice when the computer dinged to get his attention, announcing that Setton had entered the chat room. "Ah," he said, mostly to himself.

"Ah?" Masaomi asked, turning with the pizza box balanced on his hand like he was a waiter. He kicked the door closed as he was holding a two liter bottle of soda in his other hand.

"Celty-san is on," Mikado said, gesturing to the computer.

"Ah!" Masaomi said brightly, stepping over next to Mikado and folding down to sit next to him, Indian-style. The soda and pizza were both plopped down with little ceremony. He flipped the box open with one hand and pulled his cell out with the other. He was already chewing by the time his handle popped into the chatroom.

Setton: Heyya, Tanaka Taro, Bacula.

Tanaka Taro: Hello. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

Setton: It isn't a problem. What exactly have you noticed?

Tanaka Taro: A lot of the Dollars have been hanging around lately. It's like we suddenly have an honor guard.

Bacula: Not just Dollars. Yellow Scarves too.

Setton: As long as you aren't being followed by strangers, I don't think you need to worry.

Tanaka Taro: Um, okay... but I think we deserve to know what's going on.

Bacula: What he said. Dollars do what they want, but not Scarves.

Setton: There's been some trouble and people asking questions.

Tanaka Taro: Questions about me? About the Dollars?

Setton: And about the Yellow Scarves.

Bacula: And you didn't think we should know?

Mikado glanced over at his friend for a few moments. He could tell just by the way that Masaomi was punching buttons on his phone that he was getting irritated. He also had a sudden suspicion about why they hadn't been told about what was going on.

Tanaka Taro: We promise to handle it like rational adults. Right, Bacula?

Masaomi snuck a look at Mikado and let out a sigh, visibly deflating. He tried to jab less forcefully at his phone.

Bacula: We will if we're treated that way.

Setton: Someone was asking Kanra a lot of questions.

Tanaka Taro: We noticed she hadn't been online for a few days.

Setton: They were pretty unhappy with her when she wasn't in the mood to share what she knew.

Tanaka Taro: Is she okay?

Masaomi snorted. The only person that could manage to leave a mark on Izaya was Shizuo.

Setton: She will be, but it will be a while. She's under a doctor's care.

There was a long pause and Masaomi felt his mouth sag open. The message was sent before his mind managed to catch up with his fingers.

Bacula: Pics or it didn't happen.

Mikado let out a soft snort of laughter; he didn't precisely _like_ the idea of Izaya being hurt, but then again it didn't traumatize him, either. If Masaomi was going to enjoy the thought, he could hardly blame him. And from the standpoint of curiosity, it brought up a good number of interesting questions. He pondered them and decided to start with the most relevant.

Tanaka Taro: Is that why we have the honor guard? Because of what Kanra-san told these people, whoever they are?

Setton: . . . this really isn't the best place to discuss any sort of details. I'll come and get you.

Tanaka Taro: You don't need to come get us. We're perfectly capable of making our way to your place.

Setton: Be careful.

Bacula: We'll be fine.

Mikado turned his monitor off and just then realized that the pizza had been sitting there, unnoticed, while he was typing. Masaomi had already eaten three slices. "How can you eat and text at the same time?"

Masaomi wiggled his fingers in Mikado's face, cell phone held to his palm with his thumb, the fingers on his other hand still showing signs of pizza grease. "Talented fingers!"

"Yuck, get those out of my face," Mikado said, laughing as he grabbed a piece of pizza. "Put the rest in the fridge while I power the computer down, will you? I'll eat on the way."

Masaomi licked the grease off his fingers the flipped the box closed. "Why didn't you let her give us a ride?"

"We don't need a ride. We're perfectly capable of getting to Shinra-san's on our own." Mikado was clearly somewhat sore about not having been told of what was going on.

"Yes, but you made us give up the chance to be able to hug a beautiful, if headless, leather-clad woman."

Mikado gave Masaomi an unamused look as he stood up and headed for the door. "We wouldn't both fit on that motorcycle with her."

"You don't know that!" Masaomi said, though he followed without complaint.

Mikado didn't dignify that with a response. He looked around as they left the apartment and saw another group of Dollars on the street corner. With a sigh, he waved to them slightly, resisting the urge to pull out his cell phone and send a text to everyone telling them to lay off. He knew that they meant well, and guessed that Celty had been intending to tell him what was going on when she had more details.

Masaomi fairly bounced. He was in a fine mood now. It wasn't often that anyone got the better of that snake Izaya. "She should have sent a pic."

"What for?" Mikado asked. "He'll be there, you know. He's 'in the care of a doctor'. Who else would that be besides Shinra-san?"

"Yes, but I want proof for posterity." He spun around as he said it.

"I'm sure Shinra-san has you covered there," Mikado said.

Celty answered the door at their knock. She was wearing her helmet when she invited them in, but took it off again once the door was closed. She didn't think it was good to advertise that a headless woman lived there. Her PDA dropped into her hand. 'No one bothered you on the way here?'

Masaomi, of course, could not merely answer the question with a simple 'no'. "We were nearly kidnapped by aliens, but . . ." He trailed off as Celty stiffened. 'Aliens!' The PDA was waved in his face for a split second. She spun and the device was thrust at Shinra.

"There, there," Shinra said, patting her on the shoulders. "I'm sure Masaomi-kun is just joking, right?"

"We try not to talk about aliens in front of Celty-san," Mikado muttered to his friend.

Masaomi nodded. "Just kidding." He held his hands up in an innocent gesture.

The PDA nearly collided with his nose. 'You shouldn't joke about that!"

"Sorry!" This time it was more sincere. He cut a look in Mikado's direction. He hadn't known headless people could be crazy. Unfortunately, he received no help from his friend; Mikado was so busy trying not to laugh that he didn't even notice Masaomi's discomfiture.

Shinra was still soothing Celty. "C'mon in," he said cheerfully. "You want some tea or anything?"

"Tea would be nice, thank you," Mikado said. Then, hesitantly, "Is Izaya-san here?"

Shinra nodded. "Your timing is good. He was just coming around about ten minutes ago. I was going to keep him under, but you probably need to hear what he has to say."

Celty managed to pull her tattered dignity together and straighten herself up as they all made their way into the living room.

"So someone really did a number on him?" Masaomi asked, clearly interested, maybe a bit morbidly.

Shinra glanced at Celty and said, in a rather reserved tone, "I've been patching him up after scuffles with Shizuo-kun since high school, and I've never seen him hurt this badly before. He wasn't able to give a lot of detail last night. Hopefully he'll be feeling better today."

Celty moved into the kitchen and started making tea for everyone, including Izaya.

Masaomi shook his head a little, the joker gone again. "I can't think of anyone stupid enough to mess with him. There's no way he'll let them get away with this."

Shinra shrugged. "Either they didn't do enough research to know who they were messing with, or they think they have the firepower to take him on. It could be that's true. They did get a hold of him in the first place, and kept hold of him for several days."

"Days?" Mikado was unable to keep the shock out of his voice. "Why – why did they keep him so long?"

Shinra's expression was unreadable. "Because they wanted to know who the leader of the Dollars was, and he wouldn't tell them."

Mikado's jaw set in a familiar stubborn expression. "Let's go see if he's awake."

Masaomi's eyes narrowed as he thought about why it was that Izaya wouldn't share that information. Was it respect or affection for Mikado? He didn't think so. More likely they hadn't offered his asking price. That seemed more like Izaya.

"I'll go see if he's up to visitors," Shinra said, "while Celty gets the tea ready." He offered them another smile and then went back into the spare room. Izaya was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at the IV in his arm with no small amount of distaste. He had managed to get halfway dressed, but couldn't get his shirt on. Though his movements were slower than usual, he didn't seem to be having any unusual trouble. "Who said you could get out of bed, Orihara-kun?" Shinra asked cheerfully.

"I heard voices," Izaya said. "You were going to come get me in a minute anyway. Take this needle out of my arm before I do it myself."

"No, that won't do," Shinra said, nodding sadly. "It stays in."

Izaya gave him an irritated look. "I'm back on my feet. I'm fine. The only thing in this is fluids, and I'm thirsty anyway."

Shinra returned his annoyed look with an even one. "Who has your painkillers, Orihara-kun?"

A long pause. "You do," Izaya said grudgingly.

"Then the IV stays in. I'm sure Mikado-kun and Masaomi-kun won't be disturbed by the sight of you without a shirt."

Izaya sighed. "As long as I still get something to drink. My mouth feels like I've been sucking on someone else's gym socks."

Shinra resisted the urge to ask Izaya if he knew what those tasted like from experience. He helped Izaya to his feet and then tried to get an arm around his waist. Izaya gave him a cold stare. Shinra backed off; he knew when he had pushed his luck far enough. Izaya used the IV pole to help support himself as he limped out of the bedroom. His ankle hurt less now that it was wrapped, especially with the vestiges of Shinra's excellent painkillers in his system, but he was mindful of doing more damage to it by accident. He really was surprised that it wasn't broken.

Celty was setting a tray of tea mugs down on the coffee table when Izaya hobbled in.

Masaomi had been looking out a window but turned when he heard them come in. "Holy shit." The words slipped out in his surprise.

Mikado was no less startled, but had better manners. "Izaya-san," he said, with a slight nod, only his widened eyes betraying his shock. "Are you all right?"

"Sure," Izaya said, with a negligent wave of his hand. "Just a little roughed up is all." He picked up one of the mugs of tea without bothering to ask, and blew across the top to cool it. Shinra took it out of his hands without commentary and placed a glass of water in them instead. Izaya gave him another irritated look.

"Um." Mikado wasn't sure how to go about this. "Thank you for not telling them about me."

Izaya glanced at him. Then he grinned. "Masaomi-kun doesn't think I did it out of the goodness of my heart. Right, Masaomi-kun?"

Masaomi shrugged. "There's a first time for everything." He moved away from the window and closer to Mikado. "But I don't think this is it."

"Probably not," Izaya agreed. He glanced at Mikado and said, "But because I _do_ respect you, I'll tell you flat out. Would I have sold it to them if they'd offered enough money? Sure. But they thought they could demand it and I would just hand it over. After that, it was a matter of principle. And I'm not the one who gave your name to Horada. That was Yagiri Namie."

Mikado hesitated. "But you knew she would do it."

Izaya shrugged. "She's a predictable woman."

Masaomi started to open his mouth to point out that knowing someone else would do it and purposefully letting them was no less damning an action, but he stopped. He knew how effective arguing with Izaya was, which was to say that he would have better luck winning against a brick wall. So instead he asked a practical question. "What would it cost to make you give up that information?" Then at least he knew, in theory, what he would have to pay for silence.

"It doesn't matter," Izaya said, with a careless shrug. "After the Blue Squares put a price on his head, enough people found out that it can't really be hidden now. The group that got me will figure it out within a few days."

Mikado didn't want an argument to break out. He looked at Celty and said, "That's why you've had the Dollars keeping an eye on me?"

She gave a thumbs up, and then she employed the PDA. 'But all I really knew was that someone was looking for you.' She gave him a second to read and then pulled it back. 'And that Masaomi is very protective and likes to try to fix things himself.' This was very close to his face and for his eyes only. A second later the screen was wiped clean.

"Mm," Mikado said, knowing she was right but not wanting to comment on it.

Shinra picked up his own cup of tea and said, "I don't suppose you feel inclined to give us the details now, Orihara-kun?"

"Not particularly," Izaya said.

Masaomi opened his mouth to make a demand, when Celty held up a hand to stop him. She moved out of the room and then came back carrying a laptop in one hand and her PDA in the other. She held both up for Izaya to see. 'Share the details anyway.' The exchange was clear.

"You went to get my laptop?" Izaya asked, and the fact that he was itching to reach out and take it from her was obvious.

Celty sat down in one of the living room chairs and set the laptop on her lap, her elbows resting on it lightly. 'Yes, when I went to pick up my payment from Yagiri-san. I thought you might want it.' She wasn't handing it over.

Izaya laughed. "You drive a hard bargain, courier. Fine. You've heard of the new gang in town, the Green Nights?"

'No,' Celty said.

"Yeah, actually," Masaomi piped up. "New in the last month or so. Not all that big, or at least not that we could see, and uh, I was told they were kinda wimpy looking." He looked Izaya up and down. "But I guess looks can be deceiving."

For Mikado and Celty's benefit, Izaya said, "They're very exclusive. Joining is by invite only. There are a lot of rumors about exactly what their criteria is and how they're spying on people to choose who to invite. Nothing solid yet. They've seemed interested in the Dollars but it's mostly been the 'new gang in town checking out the existing alpha gang' sort of thing; nothing special. About a week ago, I got an invite. In the mail."

"The mail," Mikado said, rather blankly, as if he didn't know to what Izaya was referring.

Izaya nodded. "Regular old mail. A little card. It gave me a time and a place and some rah-rah bullshit about how few were called and even fewer chosen. I decided to go check it out."

'Very old fashioned,' Celty said. She felt a moment of nostalgia.

"Yeah. So I turned up. It was underground, some subway station that looked like it was abandoned back in the fifties." Izaya shook his head. "I didn't know it was there, and that's saying something. Anyway, soon as I got there, I thought it smelled bad. I almost didn't go all the way, but you know what they say: curiosity killed the egomaniacal information broker."

"At least you're honest," Masaomi said.

"When it suits me," Izaya agreed. "Once I got in, their so-called leader told me that he had heard I was the best information broker in town. I agreed, of course. He said he needed some information. I asked if that meant I wasn't actually invited into his elite group of thugs and told him my feelings were hurt."

Celty's shoulders shook and her smoke shifted pattern slightly.

"He didn't get the joke, of course, and demanded to know everything I knew about the Dollars." Izaya's gaze went somewhat hard and cold. "I told him that he had a lot to learn about doing business in Ikebukuro. I also said some less than pleasant things about his intelligence, probable parentage, et cetera. He told me I had one last chance, which is the usual show of bravado I see before I start killing people. But this time . . ." Izaya frowned slightly, then shrugged. "I can handle one against many, but these people are either juicing on some serious steroids, or there's something unnatural about them. One Shizu-chan I can fight with some amount of success, but a dozen of them? They subdued me and spent the next several days attempting to get the information. When they weren't there – off doing whatever thugs do when the sun's down – I chipped away at the restraints, but it took some time. I eventually figured I would have to tell them _something_ to get them out of the station for a little while so I could make good on my escape."

There was a long silence. 'What did you do?' Celty asked.

Looking innocently at the ceiling, Izaya said, "They were very persistent. I may have mentioned Shizu-chan in there somewhere."

Masaomi's jaw dropped. He seemed to be doing that a lot. If Celty was capable of squawking she would have. Mikado just blinked.

"So they all went to check him out, leaving me only minimally guarded, at which point I was able to get out of their little sewer." Izaya's nose wrinkled. "Now, since I know you're all going to rush off to check on Shizu-chan like he can't take care of himself, I think I'm going to go take more of those wonderful drugs in the hopes that I'll forget this entire miserable experience."

Celty thought about her options, then decided to text Shizuo and check in with him. As much as she didn't like Izaya's cavalier attitude about putting Shizuo in danger, the man had a point; Shizuo could be trusted to look after himself.

Mikado thought about this story for a few moments. He studied Izaya with scrutiny that would have made most people nervous, taking in the bandaged wrists, the way his abdomen was similarly mummified and heavily bruised where it was visible, as was his face. One of his hands was casted. He was leaning against the IV pole and seemed exhausted, despite the show of his usual casual arrogance.

Though Mikado was by no means stupid enough to think that Izaya was a good person, he also knew that the man was capable of doing good things. He was also aware that if Izaya did something nice, it was merely because sometimes doing nice things garnered as interesting a reaction as doing nasty things. He didn't dislike Izaya for it, but merely followed a general policy of being cautious around the other man, never accepting favors and always verifying anything Izaya told him with independent sources.

Knowing that Izaya had refused to give out his identity, even when he was being hurt, even knowing that the new gang would eventually find out anyway, raised his opinion of the other man. He had no delusions about why Izaya had done it. It was a matter of principle; a point of pride. But a man who could stick to his principles while being hurt was a man that Mikado respected.

More important to the current situation, Izaya was a member of the Dollars. A member of his gang. Whether he had intended to create the gang or not, Mikado no longer had any doubts as to his responsibilities. What had happened last autumn had proven that. He wasn't sure he was the best person to lead the Dollars, but like it or not, he was that person. In his own quiet way, Mikado had just as much pride as Izaya did.

And although he didn't really want to admit it - particularly not in front of Masaomi - he felt a strange quiver of excitement at the events of the last twenty-four hours. Things had been normal for too long. Something like this wouldn't be 'fun', that was the wrong word, but he suspected that he would enjoy it anyway.

"Izaya-san," he said, with a slight nod of his head, "thank you for protecting my identity - no matter your reasons. Before you go rest, I'd like a detailed description of both the new gang and the place you were being held."

Izaya arched an eyebrow at him. "What are you planning, Mikado-kun?"

"You're one of the Dollars," Mikado said firmly. "You're one of my gang. I won't let it slide when someone in my gang is hurt."

Masaomi glanced at him, but said nothing. Responsibility was a lesson that he had learned the hard way, courtesy of Izaya. He was the one that formed the Yellow Scarves, but when things had gotten tough, he had looked to someone else for answers and they hadn't been the right ones. So many people had paid for that mistake.

Masaomi wasn't about to forgive Izaya for that. He couldn't forgive himself either. Instead, he had tried to walk away and shake the entire mess from his heels instead of shouldering the problem and dealing with it. Again, others had paid the price.

He had learned that a person couldn't unmake something just by turning their back. The gang he had formed wasn't going to disappear, so he had a responsibility to look after them and to look out for what was best for them. As far as he could tell, that was to absolutely stay away from Orihara Izaya lest they become nothing more than his pawns again.

He knew that the Yellow Scarves were now often thought of as an extension of the Dollars, but they weren't, and now Masaomi was caught in the middle. He was a Dollar just as surely as he was the leader of the Scarves. He had always intended that his resources would also be Mikado's, but now, the first time it actually mattered, he had to separate the two.

He pulled the yellow scarf away from where he had it tied around his thigh and shoved it in his pocket. No matter how much he loathed Izaya, they were both Dollars and he had to stand up for that. Aside from that, any organization that could get the best of Izaya was bad news. Not even to mention that taking Izaya out of the picture would leave a huge and dangerous power vacuum. Better the devil you know.

Besides, the simple truth was that he would do pretty much anything Mikado asked of him. Saki seemed to think it was adorable.

It was clear from Izaya's sharp gaze and the smirk that hovered on his lips for a moment that he had neither missed Masaomi putting away the scarf nor misinterpreted what it meant. Then the smirk because a genuine smile, and Izaya tilted his head back and laughed. "That's what I like you about, Mikado-kun. You don't always do what I expect. Humans can be so interesting."

Masaomi narrowed his eyes a little and tried to remind himself he wasn't a complete bastard like Izaya. Just because he _could_ punch him a good one in the head for once didn't mean he _should_. Even if Izaya did deserve it. At least he hadn't _actually_ smirked at him. "With friends like you, who needs enemies," Masaomi finally said, with an epic roll of his eyes.

Celty frowned, or at least her billow of smoking shadows shifted. She wondered why exactly Izaya always separated himself from humans, referring to them as if they were something else, something to which he did not belong. And why was it suddenly bothering her now?

Izaya flashed another smile at Masaomi, clearly not bothered by his commentary. Then, without waiting to see whether or not anybody would actually hit him, he launched into a thorough description of the group that had held them and the place, including a good deal of information on their tactics, the specific information they had asked him for, and the restraints that had held him.

Mikado took notes, and seemed particularly intrigued by the handcuffs. "I've never heard of anything like that," he said, and looked at the others, knowing that his knowledge of the underground was far more limited than any of theirs.

Masaomi shook his head. "Me either. Sounds like magic or something from a manga." He shrugged and jerked a thumb at Celty, "But who knows? We've got a headless woman, so maybe it's not just his head injury talking?"

Celty held her PDA out. 'I've heard of them.' Then she pulled it back, typing. 'I think. Maybe. I can't remember.'

"Magic," Mikado said, rather absently, trying to shuffle all the pieces together and put them in the right order, the one that would tell a coherent story. Then he shook himself back to the present. "I'll send out a request for information; we'll see if anyone else has heard anything. Do you want to go check on Shizuo-san?" he added, directing the question mostly to Celty.

'Let me see if he texted back.' There was a moment as she shifted through the PDA's functions. 'He says he's fine. Beat some people up. Nothing big.' Another pause as she cleared the screen and typed a new message. 'He wants to know if we want sushi. It's half-off day.'

"So . . ." Shinra said thoughtfully. "What this really means is that the same people who kicked the crap out of Orihara-kun and held him captive for days . . . didn't even ping on Shizuo-kun's radar." There was a significant pause. "That's gotta sting."

Izaya did, in fact, look irked; a condition in which one rarely saw him. But it lasted only a moment before he gave a casual shrug and drawled, "Shizu-chan is a thug. It's no surprise."

Quicker than a lightning strike, Masaomi had his phone out and a picture snapped of Izaya's irritated expression. He smiled, smug. "So I can remember this moment for years to come."

Mikado couldn't help it; he snickered, hiding it behind his sleeve.

Izaya arched an eyebrow at the two of them, an expression that would send most grown men running for their mothers.

Masaomi examined his expression and thought about being afraid, but then decided that for once it was an empty threat.

'I'll tell Shizuo that we're fine without sushi.' The screen cleared and the message changed. 'As I'm sure Izaya doesn't want his company right now.'

Izaya's gaze shifted to her. Then he cracked a smile and leaned back in his chair. "I probably deserved all that and more, huh? C'mon, Shinra-sensei," he asked, stressing the last syllable enough that it almost sounded mocking. "It's time for my drugs. I'll leave this to Mikado-kun, at least for now, since he seems so eager to get himself into trouble."

"I'll drug you so much you'll need a bedpan if you talk to me like that again," Shinra said, though his tone was amiable enough and the smile never left his face.

Masaomi cracked up at that. Within seconds, he was laughing so hard that he was holding his stomach.

"Always the comedian," Izaya said, but he shrugged and even accepted Shinra's support as he hobbled back into the spare room.

~ ~ ~ ~ 


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: I love Kadota. He's just so . . . Kadota about everything. =D_

This chapter is a little more heavy on the Kida/Mikado. Which makes me, personally, squee. I hope y'all like it as well. ^_^

I keep finding places where I effed up the honorifics. Go easy on me plz. ;_; Also, just for the record, since 8-9 months have gone by, I graduated Mikado and Anri to a first name basis with each other. I figure if Mikado can go from 'Kida-kun' to 'Masaomi' in the six months between episodes 12 and 13, he can work himself up to Anri-san for the fic. =D

Chapter Three

Half-price day at Russia Sushi was always an event. Kadota sometimes thought that if the police ever realized exactly how many people from the criminal element ate there, they would either shut the place down or just blow it up. Not that Kadota really considered himself a criminal. He simply considered himself practical. He did what he had to do, in order to survive and protect the people who depended on him. In a city like Ikebukuro, that often meant crossing the line into things that were against the law. Still, he wasn't a criminal, in that he didn't indulge in crime for the sake of crime.

His phone gave a little jingle as they approached the restaurant, and then so did three others. He rolled his eyes upon hearing Karisawa's melodramatic ring tone (honestly, who used 'do you feel like dying once' as a ring tone?), and didn't bother to answer his immediately since he knew the others would soon begin jabbering about whatever was going on.

"What is it?" Togusa asked. He was driving, and like Kadota, didn't go for his phone.

"It's from the leader of the Dollars!" Yumasaki announced. Kadota rolled his eyes again. Yumasaki and Karisawa didn't really acknowledge the fact that they personally knew the leader of the Dollars and knew exactly who the text was coming from. That would entail a lack of mystery, which would break their little hearts. "He wants information on the Green Nights."

"That new gang?" Kadota asked, and frowned. He didn't like the sound of this. It sounded like trouble. Well, there was always trouble brewing in Ikebukuro. He had ridden it out before and would ride it out again. He chewed on his lower lip and considered how much to tell Mikado – or the others, for that matter.

Kadota didn't consider himself an information dealer. He was just a guy who had a good memory that people happened to talk a lot around. He was decent enough at putting the pieces together that he often knew what was going on before others. If Mikado was sending out a bulletin requesting information from everyone, that meant something big was going on – probably that the Green Nights had made some sort of move, and now Mikado was pissed off about it. Kadota shrugged philosophically. He didn't need to tell Mikado everything just because he was the founder. That was what being in the Dollars was all about.

Since nobody immediately piped up with groundbreaking news, Yumasaki and Karisawa both shut their phones, looking slightly disappointed. Togusa parked the van, and they perked up. Very little was wrong in the world of Yumasaki and Karisawa that half-off sushi couldn't fix.

When he got inside, he saw Shizuo at the counter in Russia Sushi. The other man was waiting for his dinner and pondering the unusual text from Celty. It wasn't like her to call and check on him like that. She wasn't a worrier by nature, unless it was about her cooking skills, aliens, or her head. As Shizuo also wasn't a worrier, he quickly let it go after resolving to speak to Celty about it next time they saw each other. He shifted the ice pack Simon had forced upon him when he had come in with a bruised jaw. He supposed the fight had been a little odd because they had been the ones to start it. Well, someone else always started it, but he was usually the first one to throw a punch. Or a large free standing appliance.

He was just thinking about reaching for the newspaper that had been left on the counter when his phone made another noise. Another text, this time from the founder of the Dollars. He didn't have much of a chance to think about it before Kadota came in with his friends. He gave the other man a nod.

Kadota nodded back, then raised his eyebrows when he saw Shizuo's jaw, and perhaps more significantly, the ice pack. "What happened to you?" he asked, waving to Simon, who was behind the counter serving other customers.

"There was a fight."

Kadota thanked Simon as he set down some mugs of tea, and the two of them exchanged pleasantries. It would take at least five minutes for Karisawa and Yumasaki to finish arguing over what they wanted to order, so Simon left them after delivering the tea. Kadota wasn't bothered by Shizuo's typical laconic answer. He sipped his tea and said, "Someone actually laid a hit on you. That's impressive."

Shizuo set the bag of ice down. "They threw the first punch. It took me off guard."

Thinking back to Mikado's text, Kadota asked, "Guys from the new gang?" though he was unsure whether or not Shizuo would have noticed or cared.

Shizuo gave a huff and look down at his phone, still lying on the counter where he had dropped it. "Maybe. There were a lot of foreigners." Had they been wearing green? He hadn't been paying attention so he wasn't exactly sure.

"Huh," Kadota said. He was distracted as Yumasaki and Karisawa got into a scuffle over which would be more disgusting: sauerkraut sushi or borscht sushi. He put the kibosh on the entire argument by ordering for them, getting nice, normal plates of sushi with nice, normal things on it. Once they were both properly sulking about how mean he was, he turned back to Shizuo and said, "Send 'em running?"

Shizuo had also been watching the floor show. "Is there something wrong with them?"

"With those two? Short answer: yes."

"Huh." Shizuo said with a slight nod. "And yes, I sent them running." He frowned. "It didn't seem that strange at the time, but now it does." Now with a shrug, he added, as if this should be news to Kadota, "Sometimes I don't think when I'm angry."

Kadota declined to point out that everybody in Ikebukuro already knew that. "Why was it strange that you sent them running? You probably threw a light pole at them or something."

Shizuo shook his head a little. "They hit me, I hit them, and then one of them called me a troll." He went quiet for a moment. "He meant it personally. I was very insulted." He poked at his ice pack. "They were already running away when I threw the park bench at them."

Kadota had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling. Laughing at Shizuo was a downright suicidal idea, but he would have sworn that the blonde really _was_ insulted by the epithet. "Why did that insult you more than if they'd called you, I don't know, a bastard or an asshole or something?"

"That's normal. No thought goes into it. It's the sort of thing you say to a person you're in a fight with." Shizuo paused, looking for the right words to convey his meaning. "It's generic."

"Gotcha," Kadota said. This made a surprising amount of sense to him. Then he laughed. "You mean that you think they actually thought you were a troll? Someone needs a reality check."

"Hey!" Karisawa popped up. "Trolls exist!"

"They steal your socks!" Yumasaki chimed in.

"But only the left ones!" Karisawa added immediately.

"What's up with them?" Shizuo asked.

Kadota shot an irritated look at his companions and said, "Hey, Togusa, I thought I told you not to let them have any sugar today."

Togusa raised his hands in surrender, as if to say that who could stop them, really?

"Tch." Shizuo decided that ignoring them was most likely the best thing he could do for his own mental health. "Celty texted me as well. She isn't normally a worrier."

Kadota frowned at the sudden shift of gears. "Celty did? How did she know about the fight?" Something else occurred to him; it was Celty who had sent out not a mass text but a fairly all-inclusive one late the previous night, asking all the Dollars to keep an eye on Mikado and his friends for the next few days. He had been meaning to check in on the teenagers later, but Mikado's request for information had distracted him. The two things had to be related. "Did you get that text from Celty last night about Mikado-tachi?"

"No." He sometimes simply didn't care to read every text that came through. "But it sounds like he's planning to stir up trouble." He paused, considering what he knew of the quiet teen and his friends. "Or end it."

Kadota rolled his eyes and resisted, not for the first time, the urge to ask Shizuo why he had joined an internet-based gang when he couldn't be bothered to read half his texts and, as far as Kadota knew, didn't even own a computer. Who had been doing the recruiting for this crazy group? It wasn't as if Izaya would have invited Shizuo.

He shook himself back into more important thoughts. Celty was worried about Mikado and his friends. She was also worried about Shizuo, but apparently didn't know that he had actually gotten in a fight, so she was probably worried about him for similar reasons – the expectation that somebody might be after him. There was a new gang, and now Mikado wanted information about them.

It all added up to the fact that the new gang had hurt somebody. That was the only reason that Kadota could think of that Mikado would be getting involved and bringing the Dollars along with him. But from the timing, he could presume that Celty had known about it first. Since Shinra was the city's best underground doctor, there was a certain amount of logic to it.

After a few moments to think all this through, Kadota said, "Did you tell Celty about the fight?"

"Not in detail." Shizuo paused. "And Shinra didn't want any sushi when I offered."

Kadota raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't turn that down often, huh?"

"No. He's rather social, all things considered."

Kadota briefly entertained the theory that Shinra himself had been the one hurt, but then dismissed it. He hadn't seen any wrathful dullahans wandering the streets beating anything that moved and wore the new gang's colors, so that wasn't likely. More probable was that Shinra was busy taking care of whoever it was that had been hurt. He considered all this as Simon delivered their order and they all started eating.

The new gang was weird; everyone agreed on that. He had heard a variety of rumors. A lot of foreigners seemed to be involved. They didn't all wear the colors prominently. Recruiting was low; the group prided itself on being 'elite', which was all well and good but an unusual tactic for a new gang. Though the leadership of any group might be exclusive, most gangs didn't want a shortage of cannon fodder, particularly if they were planning on going to war with the existing alpha gang.

"Guess I'll ask around," he finally said. "See what I can dig up."

"Good luck." Shizuo finally put his phone away and turned his attention to his food.

Kadota nodded his thanks and turned all this over in his head while Karisawa and Yumasaki chattered about how exciting all this was. Then he began to punch buttons on his phone until he had a quick message to Mikado. 'Think those guys who got beat up by Shizuo were Nights. Didn't do so well. Called him a troll, might have meant it. No colors. Lots of foreigners. No one's sure where they came from or when they showed up.' He paused, thinking. 'I'll be around if you need me.'

He punched the send button, put his phone away, and devoted himself to his meal.

oOoOo

It was fully dark by the time Mikado got home from Shinra's, still with Masaomi on his tail and Dollars trailing after him like they were the Secret Service. He flipped on the lamp inside his apartment and went for his homework. "So are we going to just have pizza for dinner, since you insisted on ordering that ridiculously huge one, or are you going to buy something else?"

Masaomi considered. "Would I get away with ordering something else?"

"No."

"Then I guess we're having pizza."

"Okay." Mikado pulled out several of his textbooks and began getting himself in order for the evening.

Masaomi sighed and hauled books out of his own backpack. Somehow homework felt a little irrelevant at the moment no matter how much Mikado and Saki hounded him about his grades. "What are you going to do?"

"Don't know yet," Mikado said, rather absently. He flipped open his math textbook and began looking up the assignment with his usual diligence. But he seemed to know what Masaomi was thinking; he glanced over after a few moments and said, "It hardly seems real, hm? This afternoon we're chatting with a dullahan, and now I have to do trigonometry. The way real life just doesn't stop . . . it's a little weird."

"It's all _real_." That was what sucked. The boring was just as real as everything else. He flopped down on his belly near his friend. "Just some parts are . . . mundane. Friggin' boring."

"True." Mikado's phone beeped and he picked it up. "Green Nights showed up about a month ago, not really sure where they came from. Haven't met anyone who's in them or even been invited so far." He put the phone back down and went back to his equations. "We should tell Anri-san what's going on."

"Yeah." Masaomi shivered, imagining how easily she could be caught in the middle of all of this. "Maybe Saika knows something." He said it not so much because he wanted to use her weird information network, but because he wanted to remind himself that Anri could take care of herself, and if she couldn't, Saika could.

"Yeah, maybe," Mikado agreed, though he wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of getting her involved. They worked in silence for a little while. Mikado wasn't stupid enough to bother asking Masaomi whether or not he planned to stay the night; that was obviously his friend's intention and Mikado knew he would sleep better with him there, anyway. "Did you tell Saki-san you were going to be staying here tonight?"

Masaomi's pen froze over his notebook. "Oh, shit!" He scrambled up from where he was laying on his belly and fished his phone out.

Mikado rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling. He knew that Masaomi wasn't as scatterbrained as he seemed, but his friend did seem to have a knack at spacing out about the important things. He glanced over at his phone as it jingled again and picked it up, waiting until Masaomi was done talking to Saki before relaying the information. As an afterthought, he turned off the noise it played when it received a text message; otherwise he knew he would get irritated by it after such a broad request for information.

A few moments later, Masaomi closed his phone and gave Mikado a sheepish grin. "She says she knew. She says that if I don't come home and she hasn't seen anything about me on the news, then she assumes I'm here."

"Really?" Mikado was somewhat surprised at Saki's cavalier attitude about Masaomi's safety. Of course, Masaomi could take care of himself, the question was whether or not Masaomi _wanted_ to take care of himself at the given moment . . . Mikado shook himself back into the present. His friend was all right now; he could stop worrying. "Hiiro says that he saw a group of guys who claimed to be in the new gang. Foreigners, mostly, and none who were actually wearing colors."

Masaomi shrugged. "If she was worried, she would call. And she still has a pretty good information network." He went to the kitchen and pulled the pizza back out. "Why would they name themselves like a color gang but not wear their colors?"

"Like they're trying to blend in but aren't sure how to go about it," Mikado said, absently chewing on the end of his pencil as he worked through a difficult problem.

"But they already want to challenge someone else?" Masaomi dangled a piece of pizza in front of Mikado. It did a little dance back and forth and would continue to do so until Mikado took it.

Mikado grabbed the slice of pizza and took a bite, then said, "Are they actually challenging the Dollars, though? So far all they've done is look for information about us. When they captured Izaya-san, they had no way of knowing he was actually a part of the gang."

"True." He got a piece for himself and settled back down. "But why put so much effort into getting the info if they don't want to move fast?"

Mikado just shrugged. He didn't know the answer yet, didn't have all the pieces that would complete the puzzle. He glanced at his phone again and saw that he had three new messages. "Mostly the same," he said, thumbing through them. "Hm, Tsuki-san says that he saw two guys wearing green who were speaking a language he doesn't know. Not Japanese or English."

"So some of them wear colors? That's just weird. " Masaomi made a face at his homework. "I can't imagine how I could possibly need this in later life."

"Is it so weird?" Mikado ignored the comment about his schoolwork. "The Scarves don't always wear their colors."

"Not in a school or work place, but everywhere else, they do."

"It's a weird name, too," Mikado said, closing his math textbook and moving onto his history homework. "I mean, the Green Nights? The scarves wear scarves, the . . . did the Blue Squares actually wear squares?"

"No. Actually, a lot of them had a tattoo. Or a hat, or all sorts of things, really. But the same color blue," Masaomi said, while actually trying to apply some effort to his physics.

"Mm," Mikado said, and checked his phone again. He cracked a slight smile. "A lot of people agree with what you'd heard. That they're kind of wimpy looking."

"It's something about how they act, I think." Masaomi shrugged. "Not size. Small people can do a lot of damage."

"You would know," Mikado said, though his reply as rather distracted as he immersed himself in the essay he was writing. He would occasionally check his phone and relay bits of information as they straggled in. Just as he was finishing his history, he said, "Oh, a message from Kadota-san. 'Think those guys who got beat up by Shizuo were Nights. Didn't do so well. Called him a troll, might have meant it. No colors. Lots of foreigners. No one's sure where they came from or when they showed up. I'll be around if you need me.' That's nice of him. Kadota-san seems to think we're both really good at getting into trouble."

Masaomi snorted. "You'd think he'd have his hands full with Yumasaki and Karisawa."

Mikado wasn't really listening. "For all Izaya-san made light of it, it seems odd that he would be captured but Shizuo-san could beat them up without trouble."

The blonde gave up on his work then. "You do have a point." He rested his chin on his cupped hands. "Izaya-san is the better fighter, too."

"You think?" Mikado asked, giving Masaomi and his homework a pointed look.

Masaomi gave it a pointed look too, and then wrinkled his nose. "I've seen them. Izaya-san is more skilled. Shizuo wins fights because he's strong and determined, and . . . unstoppable. He's got _drive_. And he's got skill, but Izaya-san is better. He has some sort of training and treats a fight like a dance or something. He doesn't work at it."

Thinking back to the few times he had seen Izaya actually involved in any sort of fight, Mikado decided that he agreed. There was skill, and then there was Shizuo: the raw strength to throw vending machines at people. It only further enforced his theory that something weird was going on. "I would believe that Izaya-san couldn't manage to beat them all into mush the way Shizuo-san would have, but it surprises me that he couldn't even fight his way free of them."

Masaomi bobbed his head. "Which means there's something he either doesn't know, which is unlikely, or something he isn't telling us."

"He told us everything else, but . . ." Mikado's shrugged. "Maybe he's embarrassed by it."

"He can't stand being beaten."

Mikado shook his head briefly. "I don't think it's that. Izaya-san is smart enough to know that nobody is unbeatable, himself included. He would understand that, given the life he leads, occasionally he isn't going to come out on top. And if he had been that embarrassed by the simple fact that he had been beaten, he wouldn't have agreed to see us until his injuries were mostly healed."

"I dunno. He doesn't mind not winning, or things not going his way, but that's different than being beaten." He tapped his pen. "But you get him better than I do."

"I guess so," Mikado says. "I guess maybe you're right about it, though. He doesn't mind not winning, but he hates being beaten. In his mind, I don't think he's beaten yet. He did get away – he used Shizuo-san in the process, which probably added to the fun – and I'm sure he's plotting revenge as we speak. None of which explains why they were able to hold him but not beat Shizuo-san." He thumbed through his phone, hoping for more clues.

"And he's not going to tell us." Masaomi might have been pouting, just a little.

"I don't think he knows," Mikado said. "I know you think he knows everything, but if there was any scrap of information that might make it less of a disgrace to have been captured, he probably would have told us." Mikado put his history homework away and moved on to his English, a subject with which he sometimes struggled. "I'm going to need to concentrate on this. Work on your physics. And don't make that face at me."

Masaomi wilted. "I should have just dropped out," he said, though only in a mutter. Fortunately for him, Mikado didn't seem to hear him.

It was late by the time they both finished their schoolwork, thanks to their trip to Shinra's apartment. Masaomi went to clean up while Mikado dragged out his second futon and laid it out next to the first. The room was barely big enough for both of them, but after Masaomi had spent a good number of nights sleeping on Mikado's floor, he had scraped together enough money for it.

Mikado was well aware that Masaomi didn't like the fact that he lived in such a run-down little place, but the truth was that he didn't mind. His budget, such as it was, was very tight. His parents hadn't wanted him to go to Raira, or any high school in the city for that matter. They had grudgingly agreed to pay his tuition and an apartment, with a meager spending allowance.

Though the money they gave him would have been enough for a nicer place, Mikado had decided he would rather have a smaller apartment and more money for a good cable connection and a limitless texting plan for his phone. He could have gotten a job, but school was important to him, and he had to work hard to keep his grades up at Raira. It may not have been a prestigious school, but academics were no joke there. He did some work online – designing websites, bug fixes on forums and the like – but it neither took up too much of his time nor earned him much money.

He had taken a special job to get the money for the second futon when it became obvious that Masaomi planned on sleeping at his place a lot of the time. Things had been a little awkward, tentative, when Masaomi came back from his trip with Saki. Neither of them were really sure of where they stood with each other, how to react to each other, how to get back into the easy friendship they had once shared. But they were both willing to try, and being able to chat online as Tanaka Taro and Bacula while Masaomi was gone had helped ease them into it.

One night, not long after Masaomi got back, he had stayed at Mikado's apartment until it was too late to go home. It was winter, then, and quite cold outside. When he realized that Mikado only had a small space heater for the entire apartment – and that he had to get up several times in the middle of the night to run it, lest he wake up in a freezer – he had talked Mikado into staying the night because 'two bodies are warmer than one!' which for some reason made Mikado blush.

Once the lights were out, talking became easier. Masaomi told Mikado about forming the Yellow Scarves because he had been so desperate to belong somewhere, anywhere. He told him about how his parents hadn't even noticed that their son was in a gang, becoming a criminal, spinning out of control. Mikado told Masaomi about the weeks of arguing he had had with his parents before they would let him come to Raira, how they just couldn't understand why he refused to be satisfied in the tiny town where they had lived their entire lives. He told Masaomi about how empty the sky could be.

Masaomi admitted how angry he had been about Mikado keeping secrets, despite knowing that it was unfair because he was keeping plenty of his own. Mikado talked about how guilty he was that he hadn't even noticed something was going on with Masaomi, too wrapped up in his own problems until it was too late to fix things. After a long silence, they agreed that they had both been idiots, apologized to each other, and vowed to do better in the future.

Mikado woke the next morning feeling warm for the first time in months, and from then on, things had been better. They were honest with each other now. It was a nice feeling.

He wasn't looking forward to talking to Anri the next day, but for that very reason, he knew it was a necessity. He looked out the window of his apartment and saw one of the Dollars casually sitting on the wall, smoking a cigarette. With a sigh, he slid the window open. "Go home," he said. "I'll be fine."

"You sure, taichou?" the other young man asked him.

"Masaomi's here," Mikado said simply. He wasn't sure when the Dollars had started using that nickname for him, but efforts had proven that they weren't going to stop.

"Gotcha," the Dollar said, and tossed off a lazy salute before wandering away.

"Aww, they have such faith in me," Masaomi said as he came out of the bathroom, toweling his face and hair dry. He had changed into the flannel pants and t-shirt he kept there as pajamas.

"Stands to reason they would," Mikado said, yawning.

"Eh?" Masaomi hung the towel up and ran a hand back through his hair, leaving it sticking up in a truly ridiculous manner.

Mikado glanced over at him, bit back a smile, and said, "If you don't already understand, I'm not going to stand here explaining it to you. I'm going to go wash up. You can check my texts if you want."

Masaomi made a face. It drove him a little nuts when Mikado got all cryptic like that, but he shrugged it off the best he could. Once Mikado was in the bathroom, he slid his knife under his pillow. He knew it wouldn't fool Mikado, but if he didn't see it then he didn't have to think about it. Violence was something he did. Mikado was basically a violence free zone whenever he could manage it.

By the time Mikado got out of the bathroom, Masaomi was sprawled all over the futon, absently thumbing through the text messages. Mikado flipped off the room's main light and made his way over to bed in the dark. "I bet tomorrow's gonna be an interesting day," he said.

"Yep." He flipped the phone closed and was quiet for a few minutes before saying, out of nowhere, "I sorta missed it."

"Me too," Mikado said. "I thought you might think I was crazy if I said that."

Masaomi considered. "Maybe a little, but it's not just you." There was a pause. "Saki says I have to do well in school so I can do something exciting with my life, or I'll end up doing something stupid instead."

"Saki-san is a smart girl," Mikado said seriously.

"She is." Masaomi rolled to lie on his side. "She said she wonders what we would have done together if I hadn't moved to Ikebukuro."

Mikado stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I don't think I would have formed the Dollars if I hadn't been so bored and so lonely. We might have eventually come to school here together anyway, but . . . everything would have been so different."

"We'd be different people." He snuggled down into his blanket. "I think we still would have gotten bored."

"Definitely," Mikado agreed, yawning again. "I don't think . . . I don't think it's bad, the way things turned out. I know it was hard and a lot of bad stuff happened, but I like being who I am. And I like you the way you are, too. So even though some of it sucked, I don't think I would change it."

"Me either." Masaomi sighed a little and rolled over again. If he happened to end up closer to Mikado, half onto the other futon, he certainly wasn't about to complain about it.

It was too hot in the apartment for sharing a futon, but Mikado didn't protest. He would never have admitted it out loud, but he liked the fact that he usually woke up with Masaomi curled up against him. "Go to sleep," he told his friend.

"Okay," Masaomi said.

oOoOo 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Anri was one of the strangest people Masaomi knew. A real bundle of contradictions. She was, to put it bluntly, stacked and a real looker. But she was shy and quiet like she hadn't noticed her own reflection since puberty. She was also kind of meek and easy to bully, but he knew for a fact that she had a will of steel and could absolutely kick ass like a real pro.

Had he mentioned that she carried a demon sword not just on her person but as an actual part of her body?

To top it all off, and this was one of his favorite parts, it was really easy to make her blush. And when he could get her to blush, half the time it seemed to carry over onto Mikado. That was just too adorable to pass up. So he started the morning off by asking them if they had any hot plans for the weekend.

"Eh?" was Mikado's stellar reply. The familiar blush started along both of their cheeks.

"Um . . . not really," Anri offered, clearly hoping that this was the answer that would get Masaomi off the subject.

"Aw, you two don't have to be shy around me." Masaomi wrapped an arm around each of them and pulled them in towards him. "I know all about your secret love affair behind my back."

Mikado squirmed free. "Don't you have a class to get to?"

Anri didn't pull away quite as fast though she did blush harder. It was still novel to her that she now had good friends who actually knew her and also knew about Saika and weren't afraid. Maybe she was making up for lost time. Eventually she did pull out of Masaomi's grasp and gave him a little push. She watched as he stumbled away from her comically only to regain balance that he had never really lost. She didn't mind the teasing from him because she knew it really was all in fun.

Masaomi stuck his booted foot out. "I thought it might be nice if we changed our shoes." He shrugged and meandered towards the lockers.

Anri couldn't help the tiny giggle that escaped.

Mikado decided that a strategic change of subject was in order. Blushing even more fiercely, he asked Anri, "Do you want to go out and get ice cream after school today?"

Anri nodded as she opened her locker. "That would be nice." She looked over at Masaomi then and noticed him clutching a note of some sort and looking around. His expression still seemed open, but she knew him well enough to know better. "Masaomi-kun, is something wrong?"

Mikado heard the concern in her tone and turned sharply to look at his friend. "What is it?"

"This was in my locker." Masaomi handed over the handwritten invitation to Mikado.

Mikado took it and looked it over carefully. In elegant script, it read, 'Your appearance is requested at the next meeting of the Green Nights. Your strength will be added to our strength; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.' There was a time and place listed. Mikado noted that it had to be slightly different from Izaya's invitation; there was no 'rah rah bullshit', as the information broker had phrased it. Or maybe that was what passed for it in Izaya's mind. "Huh," he said, thinking over what this might mean.

Anri crowded in enough to look over Mikado's shoulder. "What's this?"

"Do they think I'm stupid? Or that none of us talk to each other?" Masaomi wasn't all that great at explaining things when worked up over something.

"I doubt they think you're stupid," Mikado said, "but if they didn't realize that Izaya-san is in the Dollars, they might not think we know what happened yet."

"What's going on?" Anri asked.

"We were going to tell you about it after school today . . ." Mikado said, hesitating. The first bell would be ringing in a few minutes. It wouldn't be enough time to explain.

Masaomi took the invite back and shoved it into his backpack before quickly changing his shoes. "The sum up. There's a new gang in town and," here he leaned in close, because spreading information that could ruin Izaya's reputation was pretty much suicidal, "Izaya-san got one of these invites and they did a real number on him."

"On Izaya-san?" Anri seemed more alarmed than anything else, though she clearly was not distressed by the thought of Izaya being injured.

At this Masaomi whipped out his phone and called up the photo he had. He showed it to her proudly.

Anri went wide-eyed at the sight of the battered Izaya. "He looks . . . irritated," she finally said.

"He was," Mikado said, amused despite himself.

Masaomi clutched the phone to his chest and spun around. "It was beautiful!"

"But . . . why are they inviting you?" Anri asked.

"They want the Yellow Scarves," Mikado said, almost immediately.

Masaomi did one of his lightning changes from joker to serious. "Taking over without a war. If they can get the leaders, everyone else will follow. And given how they treated Izaya-san, I doubt they'll take no for an answer." He was quiet for a moment. "I'll hire Celty-san to take my answer for me."

"Do you think she'll agree to that?" Mikado asked. "I mean, there's no need for her to get involved . . ."

"She is one of the Dollars," Anri pointed out.

"I know, I just . . ." Mikado shook his head. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Not even Izaya-san."

Masaomi shook his head. "What she does as part of the Dollars is her business. I'm not asking her as a favor or getting her involved. I'm going to _hire_ her, as a courier." It amused him just a little that Mikado still didn't know a lot about how gangs worked. "That makes her neutral. She doesn't have to do any more than what I've paid her for, which is to deliver my answer and leave."

"That's true," Mikado said, "by our rules. But these people don't play by our rules. By that logic, Izaya should have been able to refuse and then leave as well."

Masaomi shrugged. "There's no way I can show up and refuse safely. Celty-san's smart, though. This is business. She'll refuse if she thinks she's not safe."

"Okay," Mikado said, with a nod. The warning bell rang and he looked up. "Oh, crap! Anri-san, we'll explain the rest after school, okay?"

Anri nodded and then grabbed Mikado's wrist and towed him off to class. Masaomi shook his head a little and made his way to his own classroom.

oOoOo

Izaya made a slight hissing noise as he pulled the IV free from his arm, then glanced around to make sure that nobody had noticed. He could hear Shinra's voice out in the kitchen, happily chattering away, something about scrambled eggs. He wouldn't have put it past Shinra to have some kind of monitor to alert him if the IV was removed, but nothing happened.

The clothes he had been wearing were ruined, and nobody had brought him anything new beyond pajamas – a sure hint that he was not to be out of bed. He pulled on his jeans and shirt from the day he had been captured anyway. He could go home and shower and change before he hit the streets.

A quick glance in the mirror revealed that he looked pretty awful, which annoyed him on general principle, but he felt okay. His ribs and abdomen were still sore, and his ankle hurt if he put too much weight on it. He wouldn't be up to fighting trim, but he would at least be able to walk around. Bruises still darkened his face, but the swelling was gone. Shinra had put a splint on the hand with the broken metacarpals; he didn't have the equipment to do an actual cast, and that would have prevented him for monitoring the wrist injuries anyway. That was okay with Izaya; a splint would attract far less attention than a cast, and could also be taken off in a pinch.

It wouldn't do a hell of a lot for his reputation as a badass, but that didn't bother Izaya as much as others might have expected. In the end, everyone could be beaten. After he crucified the first person to make a snide remark, he suspected that everyone else would leave him alone.

Whistling cheerfully at this thought, he left the spare room in search of food.

"Orihara-kun!" Shinra actually sounded irritated for once. "How many times do I have to tell you – "

"I'm all cured, sensei," Izaya said, waving a negligent hand. "The miracles of modern medicine. You must be a really great doctor. Thanks for all your help, but I'm afraid I really must be going."

If Celty had a head, she would have shaken it. Well, maybe not, because even if she had it, it wouldn't have been attached and it would look pretty silly to wobble one's own head with one's hands. But there would have been a definite eye roll. She poked the eggs she was cooking (She had agreed to start cooking simple foods) for Shinra carefully before turning to face Izaya. She picked her PDA up from the table and typed 'Is our company that awful? I think I'm insulted.'

"That's not it," Izaya said, laughing. "But I've got things to do and people to see. I can't leave this all to Mikado-kun, can I?"

This Izaya she actually liked. The one full of dry humor that wasn't trying to push people past all tolerance. 'You could. He takes his responsibilities very seriously.' She paused to tend to the eggs. 'He's a good kid.' That last part may have been a little bit of a warning.

"I know that," Izaya said. "Him and Masaomi-kun both. They're adorable," he added in a slow drawl. "But that's all the more reason not to have them involved in this too much. I wouldn't have told Mikado-kun, you know. I'm surprised you did."

Celty shrugged. 'After that mess with the Blue Squares and the Slasher, he and Masaomi would find a lie or deliberate withholding of info as an unacceptable breach of trust.' She wanted to ask if Izaya would have sheltered Mikado from it out of an attempt at kindness or if it would have served some other purpose.

"Fair enough," Izaya said, with a yawn and a stretch.

"Well, despite what you may think, you're really not up to wandering around," Shinra said. "I know better than to think you'll do anything other than exactly what you want, but at least come back tomorrow so I can check on your injuries and change your bandages."

"I'm fully capable of changing my own bandages," Izaya said, "but sure, if you want. Right now there are more important things to do. Beyond the point of my injured pride, I don't see how Shizu-chan could have defeated that group so easily. I want to know how he did it."

'And exactly how do you plan to get that info when you can't be near Shizuo without provoking him?' She turned and scooped Shinra's breakfast onto a plate and set it before him.

"Thank you, Celty!" Shinra said, his eyes sparkling. He went immediately back into doctor mode and said, "You are _not_ to fight Shizuo-kun while in this condition. You are not to fight _anybody_ while in this condition, and if I don't think you're going to listen, I'll drug your breakfast."

"Yeah, yeah," Izaya said, lifting his hands in surrender.

"What's your record with Shizuo-kun?" Shinra asked curiously.

Izaya thought about it, counted on his fingers, and said, "Six."

"You got through six exchanges before he started trying to kill you?" Shinra asked, surprised.

"Well, he started by throwing a trash can at me. Then we had four exchanges. Then we tried to kill each other for a bit, and had another two exchanges while we were catching our breath. I think he had the flu or something that day; he didn't seem like himself at all."

Celty slumped at this. 'Sometimes I think you two deserve each other.'

Izaya opened the fridge and started rooting around without any regard as to manners. "Shizu-chan enjoys fighting me, even if he would never admit it. It's a chance to cut loose without worrying about whether or not he'll actually kill somebody."

Shadows trailed across the floor and up Izaya's body. Soon he was mummified and extracted from the refrigerator. Celty calmly cracked some more eggs into a bowl and started scrambling them.

"Mm mmmf fmmg mmgff," Izaya said, as Celty deposited him into a chair.

Celty poured the eggs into the frying pan and then picked up her PDA. 'It's rude to raid the 'fridge without asking.' She held it up for him and showed no inclination to let him loose.

Izaya shrugged without remorse.

The trailing shadows at her neck gave a distinctive billow, signaling a sigh. 'I'll talk to Shizuo. You stay away from him for now.' She let the shadows around him withdraw.

"Okay," Izaya said, his demeanor now serious. "But I'll pay you for whatever information you get. No favors."

Celty paused in her poking of the eggs. 'Usual fee, then.'

Izaya nodded and withdrew his wallet. He took out several bills and tossed them to Celty, then a fatter stack over to Shinra, who was visibly enjoying his eggs. "That enough to cover my bill, sensei?" he asked.

"Sure," Shinra said, through a mouthful of eggs.

A trace of irritation passed over Izaya's face. "You have to count it before you can know."

Celty slipped her payment into the front of her suit. Then she picked up the stack set before Shinra and counted it. 'It's fine.'

"Good." Izaya stood. "I'll be going then. Call me once you've talked to Shizu-chan."

The PDA appeared directly in front of his nose. 'Sit.'

Izaya gave her a steady look. "What if I don't like eggs? You never asked me what I wanted."

'You didn't ask to look in the fridge either.' She considered him for a moment. 'Do you like eggs?'

"They aren't what I would pick, given a fridge full of options," Izaya said, with a smirk. "But apparently I don't have that."

'No, you don't. You would have if you had asked. But now you get eggs.' Sometimes Celty felt like the only adult in her social network.

For a few moments, it looked like Izaya might argue. Then either his common sense or his hunger got the better of him, and he dug in. Shinra got a can of juice out of the fridge and set it down next to the plate. Izaya finished eating within minutes and then stood, carefully testing his left ankle. "I'll hear from you soon, then?"

'Yes.' A pause as she typed. 'Try not to cause to much trouble today.'

Izaya tilted his head back and laughed. "Now what kind of thing is that to say to a guy?" he asked, and waved. "Later."

Celty sat at the table in Izaya's vacated seat. 'Someday he's going to get himself killed.'

"Probably," Shinra said, "he wouldn't want it any other way."

oOoOo

They met in the park because both of them found it relaxing. The abundant greenery and water reminded her of her native Ireland. For Shizuo there were just fewer people crowding his unfortunately volatile temper. She had planned to start the conversation by asking about the rather vivid bruise coloring her tall friend's jaw, but Shizuo jumped right in from a completely unexpected angle.

"Am I really that bad?" he asked between puffs on his cigarette.

'?' She didn't know how else to respond to that, because she didn't have any context to work from.

"Those people I got into a fight with yesterday. They called me a troll. They meant it personally." He licked his fingers and pinched out his cigarette when it burned down to the filter, then he tucked it into a small envelope to throw out later. "It's a stupid thing to be bothered by, but I can't stop coming back to it. Like it was true. So, am I really that bad?"

Celty thought carefully about how to phrase her reply. 'You are that strong, and your temper can be that bad.' She pulled the PDA back and cleared it before typing again. She wanted to make sure that Shizuo paid as much attention to the second part of what she had to say as she knew he would the first part. 'But you aren't a monster like in a child's fairy tail. You're a good person. Even when your temper does get away from you, you never hurt innocents. You don't even leave your cigarette filters on the ground.'

There was a long moment of quiet. "Thanks."

She bobbed her helmet in a nod. 'Do you think it was that new gang in town?'

"Why is everyone so damned interested in that new gang?"

'They're asking about the Dollars and the Dollars' leader.'

"So? It's basically common knowledge." He pulled out another cigarette, but didn't light it immediately. "Doesn't explain why they came after me and picked a fight."

'They asked Izaya.' Celty leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees.

"Bet he overcharged for what you can find out on any street corner around here." Shizuo lit the cigarette then and took a puff.

'They didn't offer to pay him. In fact, they tried to get the info for free.'

Shizuo choked on the smoke and then coughed it out with a little wheeze. "They tried to cheat an information broker? They won't last long in this city."

'They did more than try to cheat him. They managed to hold him and hurt him.' She sat up straight.

Shizuo gave her a narrow eyed look like maybe she was screwing with him, but he must have been satisfied from her body language that she was telling the truth. "He must have been having a really bad day because they weren't that tough. Tougher than normal, but not _that_ tough."

'Tell me what happened? What you can remember?' She turned her body to face him.

"They started it. Don't give me that look," he added. "And just because you don't have a face doesn't mean I can't tell a look when you give it to me."

Celty at least had the grace to wilt a little sheepishly.

"Right, so, they started it. Threw the first punch. They didn't even try to talk to me, just went right for hitting me." His thumb ran along his own bruised jaw. "That's how I got this. They took me off guard." He shrugged. "They were stronger than normal, I think; usually I wouldn't really feel a single punch like that. And fast, like Izaya-kun." He thought back some more. "They were mostly foreigners, and they all spoke a different language to each other. It wasn't English. Everything they said to me was in Japanese." He puffed on his cigarette for a moment. "They ran away after they called me a troll. I didn't beat them or end the fight. They actually ran away before I could."

'Thank you.' She tilted her helmet in a nod.

Shizuo shrugged. "It's not a problem. I would have told you yesterday, but Shinra didn't want . . ." A pause. "Izaya-kun sent them after me, didn't he." It was definitely not a question. "And you didn't want me there because Shinra was patching him up."

'Yes. You know he normally enjoys company for meals.' There was a pause and then, 'You don't seem angry.'

"Izaya-kun is Izaya-kun. I'll make him pay for it later."

With that, the man stood. He and Celty both raised a hand in a parting wave and he went on his way. Once Shizuo was out of sight Celty sent a quick text to Izaya simply saying that she had spoken to Shizuo and asking where he was. It was less than two minutes before Izaya strolled up beside her, smirked, and said, "You have quite a touch with him."

Her helmet tilted to the side a little. 'It's called being his friend.'

"Whatever you say," Izaya said, amused.

'You know, spying on people is a dirty habit.'

"It's not like I was close enough to hear what you were saying," Izaya said, with a shrug. "I just happened to be in the area asking my own contacts about what they'd heard. I saw you chatting with him and decided to hang around until you were done, to save time."

'Applying your own brand of logic to it doesn't make it less dirty.' She patted the bench next to her. She could see from the way he was standing that he still wasn't able to put his full weight on his left ankle. It didn't surprise her. According to Shinra, he should still be in bed. On the whole, though, he looked much better. Just getting clean of the grime had helped. He had obviously gone home to shower and change, and was now wearing a different jacket – similar to the old one, but without the edging. If it hadn't been for the bruises that still darkened his face, the slightly odd way he stood, and the splint on one hand, it would have been like the previous several days had never happened.

"You're just lucky that you don't have lips for me to read," Izaya said lightly, plopping down on the bench. "Otherwise I wouldn't need to pay you for this information at all."

'That would just be bad business. You like knowing you can trust your courier.' She shook her head a little. 'If you can read lips then you know everything that Shizuo said. I'm glad you paid in advance.'

Izaya laughed. "No way! I wasn't close enough to actually read his lips. Scout's honor."

This clearly amused Celty, as her shoulders shook in silent laughter. 'I'd bet you were never any sort of scout.' A pause as she typed. 'I know you weren't close enough. That's why you were using the binoculars you have in your pocket.'

"Well," Izaya said, "as you pointed out, I _did_ pay in advance." He looked out into space for a minute, a faint frown on his face. "Something about this doesn't sit right with me."

'What, exactly?' She turned to him, giving him her full attention, clearly ready to be serious.

"I may be an asshole," Izaya said, "but I don't brag. I am just as strong as Shizu-chan, in my own way. Why did they overcome me but retreat from him? It wasn't just that I couldn't defeat them all. I couldn't even get away. It doesn't make sense."

'No, it doesn't. Even Shizuo admitted it was strange.' Her finger came out to scratch at her temple, making the detour in front of her before going up to her helmet. 'There's very much something we're missing.'

"The only difference I can think of is that I was literally on their turf, inside that subway station." Izaya shrugged. "I just can't figure out why that would matter."

'Especially with you. Things like that don't slow you down any.' Because Izaya was always at home, wherever he was. Before Izaya could reply, her PDA gave a chirp, signaling a text message. She held up a finger silently asking Izaya to wait a moment while she read it. She tapped at the PDA, switching its function and pulling up the message. She considered it before texting a reply and then turning back to Izaya. 'Masaomi received an invitation this morning.'

Izaya laughed again. "Either these guys don't research at _all_, or they're talking to the wrong people."

'Either that or they know there's no love lost between you and him.'

"True." Izaya sobered. "If they haven't yet realized who Mikado-kun is. It could work. They get Masaomi-kun, they get the Scarves. That could help them get an in with the Dollars. They don't know that I'm one of the Dollars, so they may not yet know that they've already pissed the gang off." He shrugged. "What'd Masaomi-kun want you to do?"

'Tell them "to shove it, and to stay the hell off my turf." But to say it politely.'

"So, to carry his answer. Smart, Masaomi-kun." Izaya was smiling, almost fondly. "That kid will live to adulthood yet, if he keeps up like this. I take it you said yes?"

Celty nodded. 'Usual fee for carrying messages.' Which was very smart of Masaomi. It helped to keep her safe and also meant that his gang was acting independently of the Dollars. She would be acting as a courier, not as a friend or a Dollar. 'He's a pretty smart kid.'

"I know that, and you know that," Izaya said. "But I don't think he necessarily knows it." He stood and stretched, yawning. "When?"

'Soon. He would have had to miss school to make their meeting time. Either it's a test of his possible devotion or they simply don't understand how seriously Japanese children take their education.'

"Or both. Very likely both," Izaya said. "I'll follow along, if you don't mind. But don't worry, I'll stay out of sight."

She nodded. 'Shinra would be angry if you damaged any of his hard work.'

"Hah! Don't I know it," Izaya said, somewhat ruefully. "He can be vicious when he's pissed off, too. I'll hang back. Use my little binoculars to do my dirty spying. I just want to check out the place a little, make sure I'm remembering it all correctly. Just be prepared to save me if I get into trouble, okay?"

'I might charge,' Celty said, though she was joking. Shinra would have picked it up instantly, but she didn't know if Izaya would.

"If you actually have to rescue me, I'll pay you double," Izaya said. "Shall we?"

Celty stood, dropped her PDA up her sleeve and set off for her bike. Izaya followed along behind her and good-naturedly put up with the helmet again as the two of them sped across town to the meeting place. It was the same as the one he had been summoned to, and he gave the door in the alley wall a somewhat distrustful look. "I'll follow you in a few minutes," he said.

She nodded, opened the door and walked the bike through. She was faced with a long, dimly lit staircase heading downwards with a light at the bottom. She looked from her bike to the distance she had to cover, then shrugged and swung herself back onto the seat. Her horse could do a lot of things that a motorcycle couldn't, and going down stairs was one of them. It didn't take them long to reach the bottom.

Celty got off the bike and started to take a step forward. As soon as her toes crossed the threshold, something cold crawled over her skin. She pulled her foot back to herself sharply. There was a sucking feeling as she felt like she had been about to step into quicksand and it was trying to grip both her body and her power. Her shadow took a second longer to recede from the boundary.

This did not make for a happy dullahan.

"Welcome," a soft voice said from inside. The shadows cleared away as a torch was lit to reveal about a dozen people standing around. Some of them were foreigners, but others weren't. "Who might you be? I don't recall inviting anyone like you."

Celty found the torches old fashioned and just a little bit hilarious. She dropped her PDA into her hand. 'You didn't. I'm carrying a message for someone you did invite here.' She held it out for them to read, stopping her hand before the barrier.

The man read the message and gave her a somewhat narrow-eyed look. "By all means, come in," he said. "Make yourself comfortable."

'I'm comfortable enough right where I am and as I am.' She widened her stance just a little, using her body language to tell them that there was no way in hell she would be crossing that barrier.

"I see." Now he was definitely glaring at her. "Then deliver your message and have done."

Celty shrugged, amused by how easy it was to piss these people off. She looked around at them. Very few were wearing colors. She wasn't sure if the torches were supposed to offer atmosphere or if they simply didn't know who to bribe to get the power turned on. 'Kida-san is declining your request to join forces. He also requests that you do not stray into his territory. For your own safety, of course.'

"Hm," the man said. The answer did not seem to surprise him. "Duly noted, then."

She nodded and pulled the PDA back, cleared it, and began to type again. 'Also, to save you some valuable time and effort, the Dollars also decline your request, should you choose to make the offer.'

"Oh? And are you their leader?" The other men stirred at this, looking at Celty in more interest.

'No. I'm not.'

"But you speak on their behalf?" he pressed.

'Yes.'

"With their leader's authority?"

'Taichou feels that every Dollar speaks for all Dollars.'

"Interesting," the man said. He took a step closer. "Then you probably know who the leader is."

She shook her helmet, not in a denial but more like she just couldn't believe they really wanted to go there. 'Would you like me to give Taichou a message?' Sometimes she felt it was a real shame that the text couldn't carry all the tone and inflection she wanted to convey. They were clearly missing out on the false innocence she was saying the words with.

For a few moments, the man hesitated. Then he shook his head. "No. We'll be speaking with him ourselves before long." He waved a hand. "Your message is delivered. Go."

'As you wish.' The bow was very definitely mocking. She turned her bike around and went up the stairs. There was no sign of Izaya, but he was waiting for her by the mouth of the alley.

"That was interesting," he said, with something of a gleam in his eyes.

'It was. What part of it did you find so fascinating?'

"Two parts," he said, holding up his fingers to demonstrate. "First of all, Masaomi-kun wasn't worth the guy in charge. That guy wasn't the same one I talked to. The decision to try to capture you when they weren't sure how you would react or defend yourself was above his pay grade; that's why they let you go. Secondly, they said they'll be speaking with the leader of the Dollars before long, meaning they either know who he is or they're way overconfident."

Celty considered this. 'They were very interested in me knowing Mikado. That makes me think they don't know who he is, but they have a lead. And they are over confident.' She paused. 'Let's go somewhere else to talk about this.'

Izaya nodded and got on the bike behind her. She sped off into the night and found a coffee shop several blocks away. Once they were both sitting down, Izaya said, "You have people watching Mikado-kun, right? Because it won't be long before they figure out who he is. Overconfidence or no."

'Yes.' She didn't bother with a drink for cover. She couldn't very well take the helmet off. 'They clearly don't know anything about how the Dollars work. They think the only power is with the leader.'

Izaya leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Well, for a gang, we _are_ pretty atypical. And whoever's at the top of this chain thinks a whole lot of himself, trust me. A group like the Dollars would probably never occur to him."

'He would never take the chance of disobedience.' She tapped at the table, thinking. 'Even in people he's trying to 'recruit'. They would have held Masaomi until he agreed. Just like they tried to hold you.'

"Better have people watching Masaomi-kun, too," Izaya said, with a shrug as if the teenager's fate didn't matter to him. "They're gonna be pissed at him for sending his reply through a courier instead of showing up. Though I suppose he can probably take care of himself."

'You can usually take care of yourself as well.' She wiped the screen clear. 'Remember how you said they were either on drugs or unnatural?'

"Mm," Izaya said. "What's the verdict?"

'Unnatural.' Then she waved a hand and took back the PDA. 'Or they're paying someone. There was magic on the doorway today. That's why I wouldn't go in.'

"Huh. Still doesn't explain why Shizu-chan bested them so easily."

'No, it doesn't. There's still things we're missing.' She shook the helmet. Sometimes it struck her as strange how she was adapting to having no head. That was a gesture she never would have given if she still had her head. It wouldn't be on her shoulders so she wouldn't be able to shake it.

"Ah, well." Izaya drained his mug of tea. "I've still got sources to check in with, and at some point I suppose I should follow Shinra's orders and get my ass back to bed. Let me know if you find anything interesting."

'You let me know as well.' It was a friendly reminder that information had to go both ways. 'And don't forget Shinra wants to see you again tomorrow morning.'

"Yeah, yeah," Izaya said, waving her off. "Later."

oOoOo

Mikado wasn't sure exactly what 'I need to go do gang stuff' meant, but he couldn't help but be a bit miffed that Masaomi made him promise six ways to Sunday that he would go straight home and not go out anywhere. Why the precaution when there were no fewer than six Dollars hanging around on street corners as he made his way home from school was beyond him.

He bid Anri farewell at their usual corner and continued walking back towards his apartment. He had made it about halfway there when a figure dropped casually off a low stone wall to stand in front of him. Mikado stopped walking abruptly. The other Dollars didn't; if anything, their pace sped up, sensing that there might be trouble.

"Are you Ryugamine Mikado?" The man who stood in front of him was tall, one of the tallest men he had met, though still shorter than Simon. He was obviously a foreigner, with pale hair, skin, and eyes, which stood in sharp contrast to the green leather jacket he was wearing.

"That depends on who's asking," Mikado said.

"You know very well," the man said.

Mikado considered his choices. The man was alone. He had six others on his side, all of whom were now very close. Theoretically, they ought to be able to fight and win, despite how much he disliked seeing others hurt on his behalf. Or he could run. He was sure he knew Ikebukuro better than this stranger. He wasn't that far from school, or from Russia Sushi, for that matter. He could get to safety.

So why was it that when he looked at the cold expression on this man's face, he became very, very sure that running wouldn't do him any good?

"I didn't realize it was done this way," he said slowly, stalling for time. "I thought there would be an invitation."

"Ah, but people are starting to refuse our invitations now," the man said, with a sharp, wolfish smile. "It seemed better to deliver such an important one in person."

"Then I'm not interested." Mikado started walking again.

The man grabbed him by the arm. His grip was hard enough to make Mikado wince; he thought he was probably going to have bruises later. "I thought I had made it clear that refusal was not an option." Two other men that Mikado had not even seen before, similarly fair-haired and pale, hopped down from the wall. From the way the other Dollars startled, they hadn't realized they were there, either.

Mikado tried to wrench his arm free, but couldn't. The odds weren't terrible, but they weren't good, either. Like Izaya had said, there was unnatural strength in these men. The Dollars could probably hold them back long enough for him to get to safety, but they would be badly hurt in the process. He wasn't about to let that happen, so he lifted his free hand in surrender. "I'll go with you." He hesitated, then looked at the Dollars, his friends. "Find Masaomi," he said. He took off his school bag and gave it to the Dollar standing closest to him. His phone was still in his pocket, and he didn't want to part with that, but he didn't want to drag his school books along with him. "Don't try to follow us. It wouldn't be safe."

"You're as bright as the rumors say," his captor said.

Mikado dredged up enough nerves to give the man a cold stare. "I said I would go with you, so let go of my arm."

The man laughed and released him. "This way."

"Are you sure about this, taichou?" one of the Dollars asked.

Mikado nodded. "Just find Masaomi," he repeated, and then followed the men. They escorted him over to a car and had him get in the back. Then they put a cloth bag over his head, which made the butterflies in his stomach get about five times worse. Without knowing where he was being taken, it would be that much harder for anyone else to find him. He had to stay calm. This was an excellent opportunity to find out exactly what these men wanted with him and the Dollars. Hopefully the answer wouldn't be to kill him.

oOoOo 


	6. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the delay on this, the Christmas hols were killer this year. ^^;;;_

_A/N: You can always tell how much I like different characters by how mean I am to them. =D_

Chapter Five

Mikado tried to time the ride by counting, since the men showed no interest in having a conversation with him. His nerves made it difficult, but he estimated that about fifteen minutes had gone by when the car pulled to a halt and he was let out. They left the bag over his head, but he knew from the rush of cool air that they had gone into a building. There was the impersonal smell of a lobby, then a ding. They were getting in an elevator. Three more dings sounded, so wherever they were, it was on the fourth floor.

When his eyes were uncovered, they were in some sort of office, though it looked unfinished. There wasn't a great deal in the way of furniture, and no carpeting or tile. One wall was entirely glass; he looked out and saw an advertisement for Shizuo's brother's new movie, as well as a KFC sign and another building with much more stone than was typical in Ikebukuro.

He noted all this down and then turned his gaze to the man waiting for him, seated in a chair so large that the only appropriate word for it was 'throne'. Like the others, he was pale, but his hair was much longer, done back in a neat braid. His eyes were an oddly light green. He, too, was wearing a green leather jacket.

"Ryugamine Mikado," he said, with a nod. His voice was a mellow baritone, actually pleasant to listen to. "The leader of the Dollars. You are not at all what I had expected."

"The feeling's mutual," Mikado said, painfully aware that he was flanked on all sides by the men who had captured him. There were many others in the room as well, not all of them foreigners and only about half of them wearing green. He estimated that there were about two dozen of them.

"I apologize if my subordinates were unnecessarily rough with you," the man said, and waved them off. "After the leader of the Yellow Scarves refused our invitation, we decided to word this one a little more firmly. My name is Ceallach. Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," Mikado said. He did accept the man's offer to sit down, though there were no chairs and he wound up sitting uncomfortably on the floor in front of the throne area. It made him feel far too much like a supplicant. "I'd like to know what this is about, and then I'd like to go home. I have a test tomorrow that I need to study for."

"How diligent." Ceallach was obviously amused. "Very well. We will go straight to the point. I've come to Ikebukuro to look for something, and I want your Dollars to help me find it."

"What is it?" Mikado asked.

"Ah, ah," Ceallach said. "I will tell you that only after you agree to help me."

Mikado thought this over. "Well," he said, "I can see why you and Izaya-san didn't get along. You're far too much alike."

"The information dealer." Ceallach seemed to consider this. "You know him? He has quite the mouth on him."

Mikado looked at him steadily. "He's one of the Dollars."

"Ah," Ceallach said. "So we've gotten off on the wrong foot, you and I. Your empire is impressive, though. The information broker, the courier – one wonders who else. The Dollars are quite far-reaching. It becomes more and more imperative that I'm able to control them. Do you know why that is? It is because I prize efficiency, Ryugamine. To build up my own gang would take time and effort, and might never become as diverse and large as the Dollars are. It is much easier to subvert the gang already in existence."

"That's not going to happen," Mikado said.

"And why is that?"

"Because you haven't done your research," Mikado said. "You've confused me with someone else."

Ceallach chuckled. "After all this, are you now going to try to tell me you are not the leader of the Dollars?"

"I'm not," Mikado said. "I'm the founder. The Dollars have no leader. I could tell the Dollars to do your bidding until the sun sets in the east, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll do it." His phone let out a musical little jingle. He swallowed, trying to keep projecting the pretense that he was calm. "Excuse me, I have to take this," he said, and pulled the phone out of his pocket. Ceallach blinked, clearly not sure what to make of this odd behavior, and Mikado looked at the text message he had received. It was from Masaomi and read, simply: 'Are you ok? Where are you?'

With a nervous glance at Ceallach, Mikado began texting back as quickly as his fingers would go, sending short little clips in case Ceallach took the phone away. 'I'm ok.' 'About 15 minutes by car.' 'Office building' 'fourth floor' 'glass wall' 'KFC and Kasuka-san's new film' 'stone building across the street' 'just talking'. He was about to add something along the lines of 'don't come alone', but before he could, Ceallach snatched the phone from his hand and gave it a quick glance. A scowl came over his face; he dropped the phone and slammed his heel down on it. Mikado swallowed a hysterical little snicker and the urge to ask if breaking cell phones was his hobby.

"That may not have been a wise move," Ceallach said.

"Neither was yours," Mikado pointed out, "since I can't tell the Dollars to do anything without my phone."

"We can get you a new one."

"It won't matter," Mikado said. "The e-mail list was in that phone. Just any old phone won't do." He tilted his head to one side. "You don't really understand much about technology, do you. Your guys searched me for weapons, but let me keep my phone. Don't you understand how the Dollars work?"

"Tell me," Ceallach said.

"Tell me what you're looking for," Mikado said, "and I'll tell you how the Dollars work."

After a few moments, Ceallach nodded once. "Very well. It is an ancient artifact called the Mercurial Mask. It was stolen from my homeland a little over twenty years ago. We have traced it here, where it was put along with two protectors, said to represent the duality of the world while the Mask itself represents singularity."

Mikado blinked, trying to figure out what all of that could possibly mean. "I haven't heard of it."

"One would presume not. You were not even born when it arrived here, and it has been well hidden. That is why I need an army of eyes and ears to help me search it out. Now. The Dollars?"

"The Dollars have no rules and no regulations," Mikado said. "I am the founder. We tend to look out for each other, but our strength is in numbers, and, as you said, our diversity. We don't wear colors and communicate primarily through the internet. I can't give orders to them without either my own phone or a computer, and even if I did, odds are pretty good that they wouldn't be followed."

"And if your life hung in the balance?" Ceallach asked, his green eyes studying him coldly.

Mikado tried to ignore the squirmy feeling he felt in his stomach. "Other than pissing a lot of people off, I don't think that would get you very far."

He didn't see Ceallach move, and had no idea how the other man got over to him so fast. The next thing he knew, the leader of the Nights had yanked his arm up behind his back, pressing him facedown into the concrete floor. He let out a slight cry of pain.

"I don't think you really comprehend your situation here," Ceallach said, still very calm. "This is not a negotiation. I am willing to be polite if you are willing to comply. If you are not, we will use force. It is as simple as that." He wrenched Mikado's arm up higher as if to punctuate his statement. "Whatever it is you need to direct your Dollars, you will tell me, and we will procure it for you. You will give your orders from here, and if the Dollars do not obey them, you will be the one to pay the price. Regardless of who will get angry or why. Is all that perfectly clear?"

"Ah – yes!" Mikado agreed hastily, without any intention of actually doing as he was told. It would take Ceallach's men some time to procure him a new phone, whereupon he would have to switch out the memory chips to access his phone's contact list. All he needed to do was buy time for Masaomi to find him.

"You agree so quickly now," Ceallach said. "I know that you do not plan to obey. Do not underestimate me or take me for a fool." Keeping Mikado's arm twisted up behind his back, Ceallach pressed Mikado's face into the concrete. "What shall I do to guarantee your submission? Perhaps I'll have my men get that pretty girlfriend of yours."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Mikado snapped, forgetting for the moment that Anri was much more able to take care of herself than he was.

"Oh? Then I'll have to content myself with hurting you. Enough pain and I'm sure that you'll agree to do as you're told." Ceallach's hand tightened on Mikado's wrist, grinding the bones together. "Isn't that so?"

Just then, the office door opened to reveal a cheerfully smiling blonde boy. "Yo!"

"Masaomi," Mikado managed, through clenched teeth.

Ceallach gave the new arrival a sharp glance, then a sharper smile. "I thought you had declined our invitation," he said, and nodded at the men in the room. They started forward, one of them letting out a nasty, unsettling laugh.

"I did. I bet Mikado told you to shove it, too." He just stood there waiting, arms at his sides. Then when the first man was almost within arms reach his arm came up and he swung hard with the crowbar he had picked up from the building's construction equipment. The man went down hard and wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, if ever.

"We were still . . . negotiating," Ceallach said. Although his voice was smooth and calm, he punctuated the remark with another wrench to Mikado's arm. Despite himself, the teenager let out a small noise of pain. Two more of the gang rushed at Masaomi.

Masaomi kicked one in the face and laid into another with the crow bar. They were fast. Really, really fast. That didn't make him inclined to leave things to chance. He didn't want them getting up, so he had no problems with aiming for the head.

"Shit! He's using the bane!" one of the men blurted, backpedaling fast.

"He's only one boy!" Ceallach snapped. "Gang up on him if you must!"

Masaomi grinned again, and there was nothing pleasant about it. "You guys aren't very good in a real fight, are you. When your victim isn't helpless." He figured that 'the bane' had to be the crowbar, which was an odd thing to call it. But they clearly didn't like it, which made him all the more willing to hit them with it. He noticed that the two men he had hit with it were still down, while the one he had kicked in the head had bounced right back up.

An entire group of the men rushed forward to jump on him at once. So, anything but the crowbar they shook off. He could work with that. He flipped it so he could hold it by the bent end and switched to a two handed grip. Last thing he wanted was for them to yank it out of his hands. He swung to break bones. Within moments, the entire group was either moaning or unconscious on the floor.

Ceallach snarled and said, "That's enough." A knife appeared in his hand and he pressed the point of it into Mikado's throat. "Don't move another muscle, boy."

Masaomi froze.

"Better," Ceallach said. "Apparently his life means something to you, even if his orders don't."

"You're a fucking idiot." Masaomi felt blood dripping down his cheek and hunched a shoulder to wipe it off. He didn't even know if it was his or not.

"He doesn't dare kill me," Mikado said, squeezing the words out through gritted teeth. "He knows that I'm the only one who can get him the Dollars."

"Think again," Ceallach said. A drop of blood appeared at the tip of his knife. Mikado's breath hitched. "I want the Dollars, but I don't need them. And if I can't have them, it's best to get them out of my way. Our can they survive without their head, like a cockroach can?"

"Can you survive all of them being pissed off at you?" Masaomi asked. "You're digging a pretty deep hole for yourself."

"I'll make it," Ceallach said, his voice dripping contempt. Several of his men started forward again. "Now put down your weapon, or your friend here will – "

His words cut off as Mikado abruptly shied to one side, pulling his neck away from the knife. At the same time, his free arm came out and grabbed Ceallach by the hand, trying to pry the knife out of his fingers. Masaomi took his chance and charged forward, crossing the gap in a few quick paces while ducking the men who tried to hinder him. Ceallach let go of Mikado's arm and caught the end of the crowbar as Masaomi swung it down. Masaomi quickly changed tactics. He let go of the crowbar, dropped low, and struck out with a booted foot aiming right for the man's knee. It connected, and Ceallach was knocked backwards, off Mikado. The other teenager let out another muffled noise as the blade of the knife sliced along his palm, and he let go, rolling in the other direction. Ceallach flung the crowbar across the room.

Masaomi was torn between diving for the only effective weapon and trying to keep Mikado behind him. Before he had to make the choice there was the scream of a horse and the sound of shattering glass as Celty drove her bike right up the side of the building and through the plate glass window. She skidded to a halt between the two boys and the gang.

Ceallach said something in a language that the teenagers didn't recognize. It had the definite sound of profanity. He brandished his knife and shouted something to his men, who charged towards Celty. In one smooth motion, she swung off the bike and extended her arm. By the time she had both feet on the floor she had her scythe in hand. She spun it once and swept it forward. The men dropped. She took a step forward, clearly daring the next group.

They wavered visibly. One of them said in a small, shocked voice, "Th-that's a dullahan."

"I know that, you fool!" Ceallach snarled. "Are you going to let that stop you?"

Masaomi didn't waste any time in helping Mikado to his feet, being careful of his arm. Mikado made another noise but let Masaomi get him onto the bike. Celty tilted her head a little and used her free hand to point to the exit, holding the scythe at ready. Most of the men took several steps backwards, but at Ceallach's urging, several of them charged forward.

Celty shook her head a little and this time when the scythe swept forward there were spatters of blood. She spun the staff and used the blunt end to land a brutal blow to the head of one who had gotten past her guard. As he hit the ground, Celty brought the scythe back to ready position and used on finger to beckon forward anyone who was left.

Masaomi, who was keeping a sharp eye on everyone, took the time to whip his scarf off and wrap it tightly around Mikado's hand to try to stop the bleeding. Mikado managed a weak smile. "Thanks."

Ceallach held up his hand, and his men immediately fell back. "Making an enemy of me was not wise," he said.

"We could say the same to you," Masaomi said. "I'm trying to think of people in the city that would be worse to piss off than the ones you have, but I can't. You've hit almost all the big ones."

Celty paced forward directly toward Ceallach. Her PDA dropped into her free hand. It took her a little bit longer because she had to type with her thumb. Then she held it out for him to read. 'If you touch these kids again, I will destroy you.'

"We'll see," Ceallach said with a sneer. "But I'm not leaving until I get what I came for."

Celty shook her head like she was disappointed in an unruly child and dropped her PDA back up her sleeve. She backed away and took a second to put helmets on the two kids before climbing back onto the bike and letting the scythe dissipate into shadows and then nothing. Masaomi climbed on behind Mikado, wrapping his arms around Celty's waist so the other teenager was sandwiched between them. Mikado finally relaxed, resting his head against Celty's back and letting out the worst of the hysteria that had been building in several quiet shudders. Celty wrapped shadows around them both to hold them steady and left the same way she had come.

"Eek," Mikado mumbled at the drop, unable to manage anything more heartfelt.

Masaomi inhaled sharply and buried his face in Mikado's shoulder and tightened his arms around Mikado and Celty. Soon they were on the ground and speeding back to her and Shinra's apartment.

The office building where Mikado had been held was fortunately not too far away from downtown Ikebukuro, so the ride wasn't long. When they reached the apartment building, they all had to get off the bike so they could fit in the elevator together. Mikado's legs were feeling decidedly wobbly, but he managed to stay standing. "Thank you," he said to Celty. "For the rescue."

"Yeah, it was getting a little dicey." Masaomi was starting to feel the hurt as the adrenaline began to wear off. He wrapped an arm across his middle. He was covered in blood spatters and it was just a little gross.

Celty whipped out the PDA and shoved it at Masaomi. 'I told you to wait for me!'

"I missed that text?" He looked like a guilty little boy.

"Not that I really approve of Masaomi's cowboy style heroics," Mikado said quietly, "but I'm pretty sure I'd be in a lot worse shape if he hadn't come in when he did." He started to lean against his friend for support, then saw the way Masaomi was holding his arm across his abdomen and decided to use the elevator wall instead.

Masaomi leaned back as well and slid until their shoulders touched. "Thanks for the save, Celty-san." He bowed his head to her.

Celty shook her head. 'I'm glad I could help. It's what friends do.'

Mikado managed another weak smile, but his face was growing pale. "I think I need to sit down now," he said in a small voice.

Celty quickly helped lower him to the floor and they all waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. Mikado concentrated on breathing slowly and trying to pretend that his entire left arm didn't feel like it was on fire. He was fairly sure that Masaomi was hurt worse than him, and passing out now would be considered Not Cool on every level. Fortunately for him, the ride was over quickly and Shinra greeted them, fussing as Celty helped him back to his feet and into the apartment.

"In here," Shinra said, ushering them both into the same room he had used for Izaya.

Celty helped Mikado sit down on the bed and watched as Masaomi leaned back against a wall, trying to stay out of Shinra's way until it was his turn. "I think that jackass may have dislocated his arm. Or at least come close."

"Can you move your arm at all, Mikado-kun?" Shinra asked.

Mikado swallowed and forced himself to try. All that resulted in was a lot more pain. "I can wiggle my fingers a bit," he said hopefully.

"Celty, help me brace him," Shinra said.

Celty took off the helmet, figuring they didn't need it in the way. She sat down on the bed next to Mikado, where she wrapped one arm around his waist and set the palm of her other hand in the middle of his chest. She gave Shinra a nod, knowing he could read her expression.

Masaomi clenched his teeth and looked away, knowing this was going to hurt his friend. Shinra carefully maneuvered Mikado's arm into the correct position and then, without warning, popped it back into place. "Son of a _bitch_," Mikado choked out. Masaomi cringed and Celty rubbed Mikado's back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

"Painkillers!" Shinra said cheerfully, pulling a bottle out of one of the drawers and emptying two pills into his hand. "Do you need a glass of – " he began, before Mikado took the pills and swallowed them dry. "Guess not."

"His hand got pretty badly cut too," Masaomi said, as if Shinra couldn't see the wad of blood stained yellow cloth wrapped around his hand. He was starting to feel a little light headed. He figured it was just the adrenaline wearing off and he would be fine. He did want to clean up a bit, and wash some of the blood off.

"I'm all right," Mikado said. "I want to lie down for a bit. Please check on Masaomi; he fought a bunch of those guys."

"Your hand is going to need stitches," Shinra said, carefully unwrapping the cloth.

Masaomi nodded and then stopped that, with one eye closing as he tried to keep the world from spinning. "You let him finish with you and I'll go wash up some before my turn."

"Well, go wash up," Shinra said. "I'm going to give him some local anesthetic and I'll have to wait a few minutes for it to kick in. Any other injuries, Mikado-kun?"

Mikado shook his head. "I don't think so. It was mostly my arm . . . he was holding my wrist pretty tightly, but I don't think he did anything beyond bruise it."

"Mm," Shinra said, taking a quick look. "Celty, can you get some ice packs out of the freezer?"

Celty nodded and carefully pulled away from Mikado, trying not to jostle him.

"Yeah, I'm kinda . . ." Masaomi pulled his arm and hand away from his middle, planning to hold his hands out to demonstrate what a mess he was, but he ended up staring at his hand instead. It was completely coated in blood with the wrist of his sweatshirt soaked through. It was not the smear he was expecting. "Huh." He blinked and looked down at himself. Yep, big growing blood stain on his side, under his ribs. "I, uh, think I might have been stabbed."

Shinra looked up, said a word that Celty didn't realize he knew, and hastily put down the needle he had been preparing to use on Mikado. "Mikado-kun, off the bed, please," he said, in a surprisingly professional tone. Wide-eyed, Mikado obeyed with alacrity. Shinra steered Masaomi down onto it and said, "Hope you didn't like this sweatshirt much," as he grabbed a pair of scissors and began cutting it away from the wound.

Masaomi gave a tiny huff of laughter. "Can't get blood out of white anyway." He went where he was put, suddenly too dizzy to do anything else. "The room is kinda spinning."

Celty quickly steered Mikado to the chair in the corner. Then she grabbed a wad of gauze, pressed it into his palm, and curled his hand into a fist around it. They didn't need him losing blood too.

Once he could get to the wound, Shinra cleaned it up and examined it quickly. "You're lucky," he said. "It's long, but shallow. If it'd been much deeper . . . well, we probably don't need to go into that," he added, with a quick glance at the two teenagers. He picked up the same syringe had been about to use for Mikado, frowned at it, and put it aside for later. Masaomi would need an IV, and he went about getting it set up. He opened the small fridge and grabbed a bag of blood; he always kept his infirmary stocked with good old O positive. "Any other injuries you're suddenly remembering you have?" he asked.

"Dunno. They hit pretty hard. Everything sort of hurts." He spoke in a very calm and almost detached manner. "Hey, where's Mikado?" This was a little more urgent.

"I'm right here," Mikado said hastily. He tried to stand and move over to the bed where Masaomi could see him, but as soon as he made it to his feet, waves of nausea rolled over him and he was forced to sit back down.

Celty considered the situation and then just started to move Mikado, chair and all. Anything to keep Masaomi still, until they sorted out what else was wrong with him. Shinra paid no mind to any of this, sliding the needle into Masaomi's arm and then hooking up the IV with some saline and some painkillers, then cutting the shirt the rest of the way off. "Masaomi-kun, tell me if this hurts," he said, pressing down lightly on different parts of Masaomi's stomach and chest. Mikado watched all of this with anxious eyes, his hand clenched down on the wad of gauze.

Masaomi flinched a little at the needle but went limp only a few moments later. "Nothing's going to hurt past that." His speech was starting to slur a bit, and for the most part he didn't seem to care about what the doctor was doing. That was, until Shinra got to his ribs, when he suddenly curled up like a poked hedgehog. "'Cept that."

Shinra made a noncommittal noise and prodded a little more carefully. "Mm," he said, mostly to himself.

"Is that bad?" Mikado asked, his voice rising slightly.

"I don't think the ribs are broken," Shinra said. "Definitely bruised, probably cracked. But it seems there's no internal bleeding, which is good news. You're not going to be very mobile for a few days, Masaomi-kun."

Masaomi cracked one bleary eye at Shinra. "'m trying to care." He turned to Mikado. "See? I'm good. Nothing broken."

"Oh, yeah, you're fine," Mikado said, trying to smile. "You idiot."

Masaomi frowned. "Sorry it took me so long to get there."

"What?" Mikado asked, then shook his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have gone with them, I, I just didn't want the Dollars to get hurt protecting me and now you got hurt instead, and that's the last thing that I would have wanted to happen – "

Masaomi reached out and tried to pat Mikado's knee, which was all he could really reach. "'s not your fault." He grinned. "'Sides, Shinra-sensei serves _really_ good cocktails."

"I didn't get one," Mikado said, looking like he might pout.

"That's because you didn't get stabbed in the abdomen," Shinra said absently, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves and getting out his stitching equipment. "It's a house rule. No narcotics without a major injury. Don't sneeze at that stuff, though; it'll work just as well."

"I hurt less," Mikado said, looking away as Shinra began to stitch up the wound in Masaomi's stomach.

"Dislocating a shoulder isn't major?" Masaomi clearly didn't know how to shut up. "But that _hurts_."

"Not major enough for what I gave you," Shinra said. "He'll be fine. Mikado-kun, tell him you're fine so he can stop worrying about you."

Mikado managed another watery smile. "I'm fine."

Masaomi gave a thumbs up before letting his hand fall limp. "Good."

Mikado was glad to see that Masaomi was going to shut up and let Shinra work for a little while. He was also glad that his friend was so out-of-it that he hadn't noticed the waver in Mikado's voice that betrayed the fact that he obviously wasn't fine. With nothing to do but watch Shinra stitch, Mikado couldn't help but think back to how easily either of them could have been killed. Ceallach had meant business, and his men hadn't been pulling their punches.

He had wanted this. He had been tired of an everyday life. Now all he could do was stare at the bloody fabric from Masaomi's sweatshirt that Shinra had casually tossed onto the floor and think about how stupid that had been.

Celty pulled a blanket from the closet, shook it out, and wrapped it around Mikado. They didn't need him going into shock. When she was done she noticed what he was staring at and with a sweep of her hand she covered the bloody sweatshirt in shadow. After another moment she sat on the arm of Mikado's chair and wrapped her arm around his shoulders in a loose hug. Her PDA fell into her hand and she slowly typed with her thumb. 'He'll be fine.'

"I know that," Mikado said. "I really do. I just can't help thinking about – what if he _wasn't_ fine?" He shook his head. "That guy – he was – he was cold. He would have killed us both. I just feel like I'm in way over my head."

Celty thought about that a little before replying. 'Maybe you are a little,' she said, knowing that Mikado wouldn't appreciate being lied to. 'But you aren't alone. We stick together, right? I think we'll do okay.'

"Yeah, but . . . this isn't okay." Mikado shook his head. "It isn't."

'No, it isn't. But he thinks you're worth it. And you'd do the same for him.' She hugged him tighter and typed, 'He'll be all right.'

"I'd do the same for him if I could," Mikado said, a hint of bitterness tingeing his voice. "All I could do was lie there and get my arm dislocated."

'Not everyone is a fighter that way. That doesn't mean you wouldn't rescue him.' The PDA was blank for a moment. 'Look at Shinra. Is he someone you want to mess with?'

"No, but he's got . . . needles and painkillers and stuff," Mikado mumbled.

"Speaking of," Shinra said, turning slightly, "Masaomi-kun's all done. Your turn. Let me see your hand."

Mikado extended it to him silently. Shinra pulled away the gauze, gave him the local anesthetic, and began to clean the wound.

'He can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.' Celty gave that a moment to sink in. 'But he would still come for me if I was in trouble. He just wouldn't do it by fighting. You don't have to do what Masaomi does.'

"Of course I would, Celty!" Shinra's eyes sparkled. "I would climb Mount Everest to save you! I would sail across the Pacific Ocean! I would build myself a rocket ship and take it to the moon! I would – "

Mikado nodded silently, watching as Shinra stitched up his hand, his movements still steady despite his excited speech. "I understand," he said, and swallowed. "Thank you."

'You're welcome.'

They were silent a few moments longer. Then Shinra said, "Okay, you're all done." He wrapped the hand in bandages and pulled off his rubber gloves. Mikado studied the bandage and felt a bit woozy. "Why don't you get some rest? It'll be a while before the drugs wear off Masaomi-kun enough that he'll be coherent. Careful of your arm, though."

Masaomi, mostly unconscious at this point, flung an arm out in Mikado's direction. Mikado nodded and said, "Thank you," again before crawling up onto the bed next to Masaomi and curling up beside his friend.

~ ~ ~ ~ 


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: So, a brief note on Saki..._

I don't know if she didn't really have much of a personality in the anime or if I just don't remember her personality. I think she only had lines in like three scenes, so there wasn't a lot to go off. We kind of extrapolated a lot to write her in this, basically by asking ourselves, "What sort of girl would be attracted to both Kida and Izaya?" (You know, in her own weird sort of way.) This is what we came up with.

Also, canonically, it's difficult to get around the fact that she and Kida totally have a thing. So they do. Notice that this isn't really dampening our Kida/Mikado any. =D 

Chapter Six

Celty stood and draped the blanket over the boys. 'They're a little odd.' There was nothing but simple affection in her body language.

Shinra chuckled. "Are we a good judge of what's odd, you and I?"

'What's that phrase? Takes one to know one?' She grabbed a trashcan and waved the shadows off Masaomi's ruined sweatshirt.

Shinra helped her pick up, then waved her out of the room. He had gone serious again as he closed the door most of the way so they wouldn't disturb the teenagers. "Celty – he was lucky. I don't think they got in any good hits, but from what I saw – if a glancing blow could do that much damage – one good hit would have been enough to kill him. And despite what popular media might have us believe, it's actually _not_ that easy to wrench someone's arm out of its socket."

'They're fae, Shinra.' She just let the statement stand, not sure what Shinra would do with it.

He glanced at her. "You're sure?"

Celty gave her own version of a nod. 'Stronger, faster, they knew what I was.' She showed the message to Shinra, then wiped it clean, needing the room on the screen. 'Masaomi was more lucky than you know. He's good in a fight but he lived because he used a crowbar. I could smell the burning. He killed a bunch of them.'

"That actually works?" The doctor in Shinra was curious. "Using iron on fae? I wonder if it's like an allergy . . ."

She waved a hand, telling him that was wrong. 'It works. It's like a poison and an acid at the same time. And more. Most of us just can't shake it off.'

"Like a poison . . . and an acid . . ." Shinra's face had gone blank.

Celty turned to him, concerned. 'What?'

"Well," Shinra said, shifting from foot to foot, "I was thinking of Orihara-kun's wrists. You said the marks were like burns, and that's what they reminded me of, actually. But not burns from fire. They were like acid burns."

Celty didn't want to ask how he knew about acid burns. She had long ago learned not to ask where Shinra picked up a lot of his knowledge. She stiffened suddenly. 'You're right.' She paced a tight line in front of him. 'There's a special kind of manacles made to hold fae. That's what I couldn't remember. But why would they work on Izaya?' She knew, but she wanted to hear it from someone else.

Shinra adjusted his glasses and said, rather calmly, "Presumably for the same reason that Orihara-kun refers to the human race as if he's not part of it. Think he knows?"

Celty wilted a little. 'No. Changelings often don't. Not factually. They just sometimes have a feeling.'

"Well, Orihara-kun clearly had a feeling," Shinra said. Then he frowned. "Wait. Now it makes even _less_ sense that he wasn't able to get away from these jerks."

'Yes, it does. To break the cuffs would have required a lot of brute force. That or a key. Iron drains. Energy, strength, sometimes rational thought.' A pause to clear the screen. 'Though apparently not a problem he has.' She shrugged. 'Changelings are basically human, until they know. The magic is designed to hide everything.'

"I'm not arguing that, but how'd they hold him still long enough to get the cuffs on him in the first place?" Shinra asked.

'He's fast, but they can be faster. Experience. He's only twenty-four. That's a baby to some of us.'

"But Shizuo-kun . . ." Shinra stared off into space. "Unless they didn't want to be obvious. Orihara-kun was in their hideout. But they tried to get Shizuo-kun on the street. Others could have seen. And when Shizuo-kun gets in fights, it always draws attention."

Celty jerked and fumbled the PDA, nearly dropping it.

"What?" Shinra asked.

'Troll! They called him a troll. Then ran.'

"Wait, are you saying that Shizuo-kun is _actually_ a troll?"

'It makes sense! All that strength. The temper. The way he bounces back from injuries that would kill a normal person. How mellow he is when he isn't angry.'

"Trolls are mellow?" Shinra now sounded hopelessly confused.

'Sometimes. They just aren't complicated people.'

There was a pause while Shinra thought all this over. Then his lips twitched. In a voice that trembled, he said, "I have to go laugh until I fall over now. Excuse me."

'You're awful!' Celty protested, though she might have been laughing too.

"C'mon! Shizuo-kun is a troll!" Shinra was now leaning against the wall to stay on his feet as he laughed himself silly.

Celty was now starting to obviously laugh as well. 'How did we miss it?' A longer pause, as laughing made it hard to type. 'Just be nice. Don't hurt his feelings.'

"I'll let you break this news to him," Shinra said.

'Good idea.' Once they had managed to pull themselves together she looked back to were they had left Mikado and Masaomi sleeping. 'I should call Saki-chan and Anri-chan.'

"Yeah," Shinra said. "They may already know a little of what's going on. I'm sure that the news is making its way around the Dollars. And Masaomi-kun probably used their network to find out where Mikado-kun was, so . . . they're probably worried. Why don't you have them come over?" He checked his watch. "I'll go out and pick up some food. Just text me if one of the kids wakes up."

'Do you expect either of them to?'

"Masaomi-kun shouldn't, but Mikado-kun may. The painkillers I gave him weren't sedatives; I think he was just exhausted after what happened. Even if he does wake up, he shouldn't need anything, but let me know all the same."

'All right.' A brief pause. 'Stay safe.'

"I'll be fine!" Shinra said, waving a hand at her. "If it took these jokers six days to figure out who the leader of the Dollars is, it'll be a decade before they figure out I'm involved with any of you." He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. "I'll be back in a little while."

Celty's hand curled around the kiss and she held it to her chest. She waved goodbye with her other hand. She stood for a long moment after the door closed and then shook herself. She was a dullahan. Death walking. Yet there she was acting like a little girl. She had trouble caring about that. She gave a fluttery sigh of shadows and sent a text to both Anri and Saki, briefly explaining the situation and asking them to come over, but assuring them that Masaomi and Mikado would recover.

They arrived together, though whether or not they had planned it that way, Celty wasn't sure. She supposed it was possible that they had been together when she sent the text. She opened the door and gave them a wave in greeting. Saki seemed less anxious than Anri as they greeted her, and Anri immediately asked, "What happened? I saw the texts from Masaomi-kun when he was looking for Mikado-kun . . ."

'That new gang in town kidnapped Mikado. Masaomi got to him before I did.' She waved them inside and led them to the spare bedroom.

Masaomi and Mikado were both still asleep. Mikado had shifted so he was lying on his back to avoid straining his shoulder. Masaomi was half on top of him, his cheek pressed against Mikado's collarbone. Though blankets were spread over them, they could see Masaomi's hand where it was loosely holding a handful of Mikado's shirt, and the way Mikado's fingers rested against his wrist.

"That is so cute," Saki whispered, and whipped out her phone. "This is going up as my wallpaper," she added gleefully, snapping the photo.

"You can do that?" Anri asked, eyes wide.

Saki smiled. "Of course! Here, let me show you." With that, Saki crowded close to Anri until they were shoulder to shoulder and started explaining how to go about setting the wallpaper on her cell phone, sometimes physically pointing things out for Anri. It was done in such a casual manner that Celty felt sure she knew where Anri was finally picking up internet etiquette from.

Celty watched all of them with a strange sort of fascination. She knew that Masaomi and Saki were dating, but the way he and Mikado were curled up together spoke of habit. Neither girl seemed shocked in the least, like they had seen it before but were simply struck by the specifics this time. Celty had also thought that Mikado and Anri were dating, or at least working up to it, but maybe . . . now she wasn't sure about any of it.

Mikado stirred slightly, and Anri said in a whisper, "Maybe we should go out into the living room."

Saki nodded. "We don't want to wake them," she said, and the two girls headed back into the hallway.

Celty quietly followed, still trying to sort out what it between these kids. She wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure how. There was also the strong possibility that it was none of her business. Anri seemed less tense than she used to be, so it was probably be a good thing, whatever it was. Instead, she asked, 'Would you like some tea? Shinra went out to pick up dinner.'

"Tea would be nice, thank you," Anri said.

Saki folded her cell phone and put it away. With a slightly more businesslike air, she said, "Do you want to go into details or wait until the two of them are up and around? I'm guessing there's still probably some things you don't know about what happened."

Celty went to get the tea, pondering the answer. She came back only a moment later with the teapot and three mugs on a tray. One was Shinra's favorite. It was turned upside down on the tray, waiting for his return. She paused before pouring to answer. 'There's still a lot I don't know. If we wait for them to wake, we can put the story together in order.' She set the PDA on the table for them to read while she poured their tea.

Anri picked up her mug and held it between her hands as if to warm them. "But they're going to be all right?" she asked.

Celty picked up the PDA again. 'Yes.' She figured that she may as well give the basics. 'Mikado had his shoulder dislocated and the palm of his hand cut.' She showed this to them and then cleared the screen. 'Masaomi has a couple of cracked ribs and he received a stab wound, but Shinra said it was shallow and long rather than deep.'

"Masaomi will be fine," Saki said, with her usual serene confidence. "He's tougher than he looks, you know." She sipped her tea. "We should probably tell the rest of the Dollars to stay off the streets for today. And tell the Scarves not to wear their colors. I don't imagine the new gang is pleased about what happened."

'No, he won't take well to being beaten. At all.' Celty knew a Sidhe when she saw one. They held their dignity in very high regard. Having so many of his people taken out by a human, a human child no less, would grate badly. 'I know some of Masaomi's people if one of you two would talk to the Dollars?'

Saki nodded. A little smile hovered on her face. "I probably know some of them, too, but let's not remind Masaomi of that, okay?" She pulled out her phone. "Anri-chan, do you want to get in touch with some of the Dollars? I have some other things I want to look into."

"Like what?" Anri asked nervously, though she too got out her phone.

"Like who owns the building that Mikado-kun was taken to," Saki said, "and et cetera."

Anri gave a small nod and pulled out her phone. She was getting much better at all of this internet stuff since becoming friends with Saki, but it still took concentration. She didn't think she would ever be as comfortable with it as Saki and Celty. Their fingers flew over the keypads of their phones in sure, confident strokes.

She started with the Dollars' chat room. She knew she typed slower than the others but found that they all very kindly allowed her the time. This encouraged her to use the chat more often and she knew she was getting faster. A few minutes later she had spread the word of Mikado's kidnapping and rescue, assured everyone that 'Taichou' would be fine, and that all the Dollars should try to stay off the streets or be extremely careful.

Celty had sent the same basic information to a couple of Scarves that she had worked for and asked them to spread the word. She also added that they were not to look for trouble to avenge their leader, but that should any of them be cornered, a crowbar was a good weapon of choice. The Yellow Scarves, while not generally violent, did not shy away from crime.

Saki merely skimmed from site to site, texting different contacts and asking a variety of questions. She hummed softly to herself while she did it. She still had the extensive information network she had developed as Izaya's protégé, and had never let it go to waste. Of course, the problem with that network was that it was very similar to Izaya's, with only a few key differences. Some people who weren't willing to deal with him were willing to deal with Saki, either because she was less of a bastard or merely because they didn't realize she had ever been connected with him.

"Ah," she said softly. "This is interesting. The building is undergoing construction right now, of course, so it's not occupied. None of the floors were rented. They were squatting."

'Then where was the security and construction crew?' Celty asked promptly.

"Don't know yet," Saki said. "Hm, maybe I'll try Hayabusa-san . . ." She began texting again without another word.

Celty reflected that she may almost, though not quite, feel bad for the Sidhe. The four children that were currently in her and Shinra's apartment were not easy enemies to have. 'Anri-chan, you may also want to take extra care. You must have been seen with Mikado and Masaomi.'

Anri looked up as if startled, then nodded and said, quite seriously, "I'll be careful." After a pause, she said, "You're right. If Mikado-kun was taken on his way home from school, that must have been only a few minutes after we split up on our walk home. He was . . . explaining things to me. It was just . . . he was fine when I left him," she finished quietly.

'No doubt.' If they had tried to take Mikado in Anri's presence, Celty was sure they would have received a nasty shock in the form of Saika. She wondered if they could sense the demon at Anri's command or if they simply had had good luck.

Saki's phone chirped. "Ah, excuse me," she said, picking it up. A slight smile touched her face as she heard the voice at the other end. "How rare to hear from you," she said. "Mm hm. Yes. I'm quite aware, thank you." There was a long pause. "Oh? You've been busy." Another pause, then a laugh. "By all means." She picked up a piece of paper and began to jot notes down on it. "That's all? Of course." She laughed again, this time more brightly. "If you say so, Izaya-san. I appreciate it." She folded the phone and tucked it away.

Celty felt a little startled. Izaya and Saki still maintained ties? Given the easy way they spoke, there was no tension between them. She would bet that they spoke fairly often. 'What did Izaya have to say?'

"The men who are normally at work on that building during the day didn't make it to work this morning," Saki said, studying her notes. "For a variety of reasons. Three had family emergencies. Two were seriously ill. Several claimed emergencies but there's evidence that they accepted substantial bribes. The rest are simply missing."

'Is there any way that you can be notified if bodies are found?' Celty asked, trying to figure out the sort of fae they were dealing with. She hadn't been paying a lot of attention when she had rescued the children.

"Of course," Saki said, and began texting away without pause. "Izaya-san's contacts are better for that sort of thing, but he said he was mostly busy investigating that abandoned subway station, so I may hear before he does."

'Is he going to share what he knows when he finds out?' Celty knew better than to think it would be automatic with Izaya.

"Of course he is," Saki said. "He always does when I . . . insist."

'I see.' Celty wasn't sure she did.

Saki glanced up to see the message on the PDA, and her smile widened. "Well, he kind of still owes me big time for everything I did back when I first met Masaomi. I mean, it was because of Izaya-san that I got hurt. So sometimes, when it doesn't inconvenience him or cost him anything, he'll do me little favors. Or share information that he doesn't think he'll profit off of but I may, or in this case, give me a lead so I can run it down because he's too busy to do it himself."

'Masaomi doesn't know. Does he?' Celty could just see the theatrics covering real anxiety that Masaomi would indulge in.

"Of course he knows," Saki said, clearly a little insulted at Celty's assumption. "He's not happy with it, but I would never keep something like that from him."

Celty held up her hands in surrender. 'I'm sorry.' It hadn't been her intention to insult them. Clearly Masaomi and Saki had mastered the art of agreeing to disagree.

Saki's phone jingled and she looked down at it. "No problem," she said. "Mikado-kun said the same thing the first time he saw me talking to Izaya-san. I guess it's just because I know him so well. Nothing he does should be taken personally." She punched a button on her phone. "Ah," she added. "This is interesting. Apparently, several people on the street called emergency services when they saw the building get broken into by the infamous Black Biker. But when services responded, the floor was empty. No bodies, not even any blood."

Anri looked up at this. "How would they do that? How long did it take them to respond?"

"Not long. About . . ." Saki surfed for another minute. "Less than five minutes."

'I went in that way because it was the fastest way.' Celty's fingers drummed against the table. Moving that quickly meant some sort of gating magic. A glamour would visually hide bodies and blood, but a cop could still trip over what they couldn't see. 'I bet the blood is still there. It'll look like a real mess in a day or two.'

"What do you mean?" Anri asked. "If the blood's still there, why didn't they see it?"

'This new gang isn't human. They're fae. Like me.' It was nice not to have to convince people that magic was real. It made explaining much easier.

Anri's eyes went wide, and darted towards the room where the two boys were sleeping, obviously reconsidering her earlier conclusion that they were going to be okay. Saki looked just as surprised, then began texting away with even more fervor. "I wish you had said that earlier!" she said. "It gives me a million more places to look, people to ask. And that snake Izaya-san! He must have known too."

Celty reached out and patted Anri's knee. 'They'll be fine. They're safe here.' Then she typed away at her PDA. 'They aren't making it known. It's very easy to hide and seem human if you have the right sort of magic.'

"Still," Saki said, "I'm sure Izaya-san knew. What kind of thing would they need, to move all those bodies? What sort of magic? Would it require anything special that I can try to track down?"

'No. A gate requires nothing but power and know how.'

"Damn," Saki muttered, but kept texting away anyway.

The door opened and Shinra came in, heavily laden with bags. "Hello!" he said, waving to the girls.

"Good afternoon, Shinra-sensei," Anri said. Saki waved but didn't say anything, absorbed in what she was doing.

'Welcome back.' Celty stood, showed him her words and lightly touched two fingers to his lips in her own version of a kiss.

Shinra smiled goofily and set the food down. "I'm going to go check on the boys," he said.

'All right. Saki-chan is trying to gather information.' Celty stepped back to allow Shinra to go on his way.

Shinra set the bags down and went back into the spare room. He closed the door quietly behind him and went to check Masaomi's IV. It had emptied, so he disconnected it, though he left the hep-lock in, carefully taping it down. Some of the color had returned to Masaomi's face. Shinra checked his pulse and found it strong and steady. As he glanced over at Mikado, he saw that the teenager had opened his eyes and was looking around. "How are you feeling, Mikado-kun?" Shinra asked.

"Okay," Mikado said, his gaze automatically flickering over to Masaomi. He seemed reassured, and half-sat up. "How's Masaomi?"

"He seems to be doing well," Shinra said. "The sedatives should be wearing off shortly. Anri-chan and Saki-chan are here."

Masaomi was waking up, but he was in no hurry to get there. Right now he was warm, comfortable, and floating in a nice soft fuzzy haze.

"Oh, did Celty-san call them?" Mikado asked. "Did they get here okay?" He glanced over at his friend, torn. He wanted to stay with Masaomi, but then again, he wanted to check in with the girls, too. They were probably worried about him. He sat up the rest of the way and swung his legs over the side of the bed as Shinra confirmed both these things.

Masaomi made an unhappy noise as the point of warmth he was curled around suddenly pulled away. His eyes started to open. He knew he had to keep an eye on his friend. He just couldn't quite remember why at the moment. Mikado glanced at him, looked a bit sheepish, and lay back down. Masaomi made a satisfied noise, flung an arm across Mikado's chest, and let his eyes fall back closed.

Amused, Shinra said, "Are you hungry? I'll go get some food and the girls and we can talk things over in here. I think Masaomi-kun would much prefer it that way."

"Thanks," Mikado said, realizing he was starved. He wondered what time it was and looked around for a clock as Shinra left the room. When he couldn't find one, he reached for his cell phone, only to remember that it was broken. After a few moments, he said quietly, "You awake?"

The answer was slow in coming. "No."

"Okay, well," Mikado said, "I'm just trying to reach your phone to see what time it is, so don't move. I don't want to jostle you." He paused, then added, "I'm not going anywhere." With that, he carefully pulled Masaomi's phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. There were approximately a million new text messages, which he ignored in favor of checking the time. As he had expected, it was past the usual dinner hour.

Masaomi held still and let Mikado do as he pleased. He was, unfortunately, starting to wake up. Which meant things were starting to hurt. He thought. He wasn't quite sure about that. "Things're floaty."

"I'm not surprised," Mikado said. He hesitated. "Is it okay if Anri-san and Saki-san come in? Because if it isn't, I'm going to have to go out to them."

Masaomi's fingers closed tight over Mikado's shirt. "Don't go. What if I can't find you this time?"

"Okay," Mikado said. He took a deep breath, trying not to get any more freaked out about the day's events than he already was. He knew there was no point in trying to explain to Masaomi that he would be less than fifteen feet away, and wouldn't leave the apartment. Masaomi drugged was going to be even less rational than usual, and that was saying something. "I'll stay right here. You just go back to sleep, okay? Try not to be bothered by us talking."

Masaomi nodded and then subsided into silence, though his eyes stayed open.

Mikado thought about saying something else, but then there was a quiet knock and the door opened again and the others trooped in, most of them carrying their own chairs while Shinra carried the food. Mikado sat up again, though he was careful not to dislodge Masaomi's hand from his shirt, and offered them a smile. "Thanks for worrying about me," he said.

Anri's cheeks turned pink. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Mikado nodded, and the blush spread from her cheeks to his like usual. "I'm fine. We're both fine," he added.

Saki set her chair down and gave Mikado a visual onceover to confirm what she had been told. He did seem to be mostly all right. One hand was heavily bandaged and there were some scrapes to his cheek, but he was upright, clear-eyed, okay. Masaomi, however, looked pretty dazed. He was blinking sleepily and still lying down. His white sweatshirt was long gone and his abdomen was swathed in bandages. She reached out and tucked some of his blonde hair behind his ear. "You always do manage to find trouble."

He smiled a little at her. "Saki."

"Of course." She sat in the chair she had set down close to him.

Celty, watching these affectionate displays between the two couples, felt more confused than ever.

"Oh, Mikado-kun," Shinra said, hastily setting the food down. "Your arm really should be in a sling if you're going to be sitting up. It'll help support it and keep you from using it."

"All right," Mikado said, though he didn't look thrilled with the idea. He let Shinra get his arm into the sling, glad that the painkillers were still in effect and he didn't really feel much as he did so. Then he looked at it and said, with a sigh, "This is not going to make texting or typing easy. Though I guess the former doesn't matter until I get a new phone."

"What happened to your phone?" Anri asked.

"They took it away from me," Mikado said, then decided he may as well be truthful. "And broke it."

There was a long pause as Celty started to feel a little panicked. Before she could even think about what she wanted to type, Masaomi piped up in a voice that told everyone just how good the drugs Shinra had given him were. "Aww, you'll lose your contact list."

"I know, that's what I told him when he wanted me to give orders to all the Dollars," Mikado said. Moments after the words had left his mouth, his eyes went wide. "Shit! My contact list!"

That finally seemed to wake Masaomi up for real. Not the words themselves, but Mikado's tone. He bolted up into a sitting position. "What? What's wrong?" Then he cringed and wrapped his arms around his middle. "Oooh." His eyes squeezed shut and then one opened.

Celty gave a sigh at the blonde's unintended antics and stood. 'I'll go see if I can find it.'

Saki leaned over and squeezed Masaomi's hand.

"He may not have taken it," Mikado said. "He didn't really understand any of what I said when I was talking about it."

"What is it?" Anri echoed Masaomi.

"My contact list in my phone," Mikado said. "If he can access it, he can find a lot of the Dollars. If he can get into my e-mail, he'll be able to find all of them."

'He's smart enough to come back for it eventually, even if he didn't take it. I'll see if I can find it.' With that, she turned to leave.

"Thanks, Celty-san," Mikado said, as she left the room.

Masaomi squeezed Saki's hand back and leaned his shoulder into Mikado. He was starting to relax again as the medication swept the pain away. "This guy is really starting to piss me off." He was clearly awake at this point.

"Why don't you give us the whole story," Saki suggested, "and then I'll tell you what I've been able to find out."

Mikado nodded. He started at the beginning, splitting up with Anri, why he had sent the Dollars away and gone willingly with the Nights. He related back as much of what Ceallach had said as he could recall, verbatim when possible. Anri went pale when he told of Ceallach's threats against Mikado, though the threat against herself barely seemed to register. When Mikado got up to the point that Masaomi had come in, he glanced at him and said, "You used the Dollars to find the building?"

Masaomi nodded. "It was just a game of hot and cold. Someone knew the billboard, which got me to the right area. And the descriptions just got closer from there. The crowbar I picked up from the construction site." He told the rest of the story, with Mikado chipping occasionally, until they got back to the apartment.

"I'm so glad that the two of you are okay," Anri said, studying her hands.

Masaomi opened his mouth to make one of his outlandish statements about how awesome they were, but he stopped. "That's mostly thanks to Celty-san and Shinra-sensei."

Mikado nodded fervently.

Saki leaned over and kissed Masaomi on the forehead. "Well, while you two have been sleeping," she said, with just a hint of laughter in her voice, "I've been busy trying to track down who owns that building."

Masaomi grinned. She was so attractive when she was on the hunt for information. Like Mikado, her weapon of choice was the phone. "Have you turned anything up?"

Saki summed up what she had learned so far, checked her phone for updates, and found none. "It may be a while before the missing men turn up, in one fashion or another. I'm not sure it's really that helpful in the long-term. The pertinent thing we've learned is that it wasn't their primary hideout. They've abandoned it. So they must have chosen it just to have the meeting with Mikado-kun. They're becoming more cautious."

"Do you think my invitation was to the real hideout?" Masaomi asked. "Or Izaya-san's?"

"They were," Shinra said, startling the teenagers, who had almost forgotten he was there. "Probably, anyway. Celty told me there was magic on that subway station to keep her from using her powers, maybe trap her if she stepped over the threshold. There obviously wasn't anything like that on the place they chose for the temporary HQ."

Masaomi felt his eyes widen. But it was Mikado who spoke. "They have magic?"

"Normal people do not hold Izaya-san in underground hideouts," Saki remarked.

"Yes, well, magic still isn't the first thing I think of," Masaomi said in his own defense.

"What would you think of first?" Saki asked, genuinely curious.

Masaomi thought about it for a second, the delay due to the pain medication. "Military. Spies. Nazis." He opened his mouth for one more, but first craned his neck to make sure Celty was gone. "Aliens."

"You find aliens more likely than magic, when one of your best friends controls a sword possessed by a demon?" Mikado asked.

Masaomi grinned. "Well, maybe not aliens."

Saki glanced at the others. "I'd like to do a little research on this Ceallach character and the Mercurial Mask, if that's all right. Understand that one of the people I'll ask is Izaya-san."

"That's fine with me," Mikado said. "He's invested in this, too."

Masaomi made a face. "Better the devil you know. Ask away."

"It may be a while before we have any answers," Saki said. She reached out and touched Masaomi's cheek. "Why don't you get a little more rest? Anri-chan and I will stay here tonight, if that will make you feel better."

Masaomi turned his face into her hand. "It would. It feels safe here."

"I'm going to wait up until Celty-san gets back, with or without my phone," Mikado said.

"Wake me up when she gets back?" Masaomi asked.

"Okay," Mikado said.

oOoOo 


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N: Y'know, it's easy to write Izaya in character when he's being a snarky bastard and spying on people. Writing him in character when he's receiving life-changing, world-changing information is a little more touchy. I hope we did right by him. =D_

Also, should I have warned for an OT4? Oh well. Most of the people in the comments seem to support it.

Chapter Seven

Celty wasted no time in zipping with her horse down to the scene of Mikado's recent kidnapping. She slowed as she approached, not wanting to draw too much attention. The window she had broken was now filled in with a tarp, but there was no construction crew back on the job yet. She pulled to a silent stop across the road, directly behind a dark green van. A familiar dark green van. Her helmet cocked to the side. She climbed off the bike walked over to the front passenger door and tapped on the window with her index finger.

From inside came a muffled squeal. "We've been seen! It's the Black Biker!"

The window cranked down and Kadota nodded to her politely. "Celty-san."

'What are you doing here?'

"Just keeping an eye on things," Kadota said, as nonchalantly as if he did this all the time. Which was not entirely untrue. He had a tendency to hang around places where he suspected bad things might happen, just in case. He had staked out Yagiri Pharmaceuticals for several days back when he had found out they were involved in human trafficking.

Celty considered this. 'Seen anything of interest?'

"Nope," Kadota said. "Some guys came by and put a tarp up on the window about an hour ago. I figured now that it's dark, we would hang out a bit, see if anyone else dropped by." He glanced over at her. "Kids okay?"

'Yes. Shinra patched them up and is keeping an eye on them.' She looked back at the building for a moment. 'I have to go.'

"What for?" Kadota asked, his gaze interested, but with his usual air of reserve.

"Are there bad guys?" Karisawa asked from the back seat, leaning over Kadota's shoulder to see Celty. "If there are bad guys, we should go with you! Dotachin is the best at beating up bad guys!"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Kadota growled.

'They took Mikado's cell from him. We hope it's still up there.' She was getting impatient. Every moment she waited was one that Ceallach could gate back in and get it.

"Why would they take it from him but then not bring it with them?" Kadota was already unbuckling his seat belt. He half-turned and said, "You guys stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Celty thought about telling him to stay put, but decided that getting inside was more important. 'They aren't very wise to technology.'

"So they just took it to keep him from using it," Kadota said with a nod, getting out of the car. Yumasaki and Karisawa piled out behind him. He gave them both an annoyed look, but then saw Celty's impatient stance and decided against any sort of censure. To get them to agree to actually stay in the van would take much longer than they had. "No one's up there. It's been empty for hours now."

Celty wasn't so sure of that, but she gave a nod of her helmet and set off across the street. She was pleased to note that at least the two kids were capable of being quiet as they followed her into the building and up the stairs. Kadota brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the stairs behind them. Right before she stepped out onto the fourth floor she held her hand out and formed her scythe, just to be safe. Kadota immediately had to slap a hand over the mouths of each of the two young teens, before they could squeal in excitement.

Celty turned and gave them a look even though she had no eyes. A second later she stepped onto the fourth floor. It was empty. Empty of people, of blood and bodies, and empty of that all important cell phone. She could feel the magic blanketing the place and slammed the staff end of the scythe into the cement floor in annoyance.

A few moments later, the lights flipped on. Celty flinched, the scythe snapping to the ready as she spun, her shadow, darker than any other in the room lay across the floor, razor sharp and headless. Karisawa blinked guilelessly at her as she took her hand off the switch. "We can't look for it in the dark," she said.

After a pause, Celty nodded once and flung a hand out towards the windows. Shadows writhed and filled the windows blocking any light from leaving.

"Ooh, good idea," Yumasaki said, clearly impressed.

"That's so cool!" Karisawa agreed.

Kadota sighed and looked around the room. "I don't see it anywhere," he said. "Do you think they put it away somewhere? I don't like the idea, but I think the odds are good that they brought it with them when they moved out."

'No. It could still be here.' She let the scythe dissolve and crouched, touching her free hand to the floor first with just her fingertips. Then her fingers curled and she raked a clawing hand across the floor. She felt the glamour ripple but then hold steady. Her knuckles hit the floor in frustration. She could unravel it, but it would take too long. There was too good a chance that Ceallach would know if it was broken. She stood and walked over to where Mikado had been. 'He was over here. It's a good place to start.' With that, she dropped to her knees, and started physically feeling around for the phone.

"What are you doing?" Kadota asked, frowning. "No offense meant, but we can see that it's not there."

Celty paused in her search to type. 'It could still be here. There's magic hiding what happened. You can't trust your eyes.'

"That's so cool!" Yumasaki and Karisawa both dropped to their hands and knees and began enthusiastically crawling around on the floor.

"Hold it, hold it," Kadota said, kneeling beside them. "Let's be organized about this. You two search in that direction; Celty-san and I will go in this direction."

Celty nodded in agreement and started patting away again. Kadota continued next to her, and the two teenagers went the other way, feeling the floor and chattering away at each other about the various manga that had magic and which one this was most like. Kadota glanced over at Celty and said, "Do they need to be quiet? I can get them to be quiet if you think it's important."

She shook her head. Silence wouldn't help them if Ceallach came back, and she doubted there would suddenly be any guards doing rounds.

"Oh, good," Kadota said, and muttered to himself, "I think I left the duct tape in the van anyway."

"We heard that, Dotachin!"

"Don't call me that!"

Celty's shoulders shook in silent laughter.

"Ah! Ah ha!" Yumasaki suddenly cried out. "I think I – "

His words cut off abruptly as the glamour collapsed and he found himself kneeling in a pool of blood. He let out a yelp.

"What is it?" Kadota asked, but then looked up and noticed the liberal splashes of red all around the room. He sucked in a startled breath and Karisawa made a surprised little noise.

Celty stood. 'This is what they didn't want the police seeing.' She noted that the bodies really had been cleared away. When Yumasaki had found the phone even though he couldn't see it, the dissonance between reality and the glamour had caused it to collapse.

"What happened here?" Kadota asked, then thought back to the day's events. "Ah. Kida happened."

Celty nudged the bloody crowbar on the floor with a wary toe. 'He's very protective of Mikado.'

"And still going overboard, I see," Kadota said, mostly to himself, as he got to his feet. Yumasaki and Karisawa had both recovered from the surprise and stood up, Yumasaki waving around the red plastic that had once been Mikado's phone.

'They would have killed him.' Celty wasn't so sure he had gone overboard at all. 'And they won't forget the fact that he got away.'

"Should we look around for anything else?" Karisawa asked eagerly.

'No, this is all we needed.' She held a hand out for the remains of the phone.

Yumasaki handed it to Kadota, who gave it a quick look before passing it on to Celty. "It still seems mostly intact, so they didn't take the memory chip. They really don't know their technology."

It slid from her hand into her sleeve with a swirl of shadow. 'I'm afraid they'll learn quickly though. Thank you for the help.'

"Anything else we can do?" Kadota asked.

'No. But please, don't get in the way of these people.'

Kadota put his hands behind his head and considered this for a few minutes. He neither agreed nor argued, but simply said, "Tell Kida and Taichou that I said I've got their backs if they need it."

Celty nodded once. 'Lights?'

Karisawa and Yumasaki both raced over to the switch. Yumasaki won, turning them off, and the group headed down the stairs. Celty waved a hand, withdrawing the shadows on the windows as she followed them out. Once they were at their respective vehicles, Celty waved in farewell and took off. Before long, she was back at the apartment, wheeling her bike inside.

Shinra was sitting at his usual desk, typing away about who-knew-what. He smiled as the door opened. "Welcome back," he said. "Did you find it?"

Celty made her way over to him. 'Yes. Kadota and his friends helped me look.'

"Ah, good," Shinra said. "The girls are in the living room. Anri-chan is doing her homework. I think Saki-chan is still tracking down as much information as she can. In theory, the boys are asleep, though Mikado-kun insisted on getting the assignments from Anri-chan so he may still be doing his own school work."

'I'll see about getting him to sleep.' She turned to head for the spare bedroom.

Shinra had been correct; although Masaomi was out cold, Mikado was sitting up in bed, diligently working on his math homework with Anri's borrowed textbook. He looked up as she came in, anxiety written all over his face. "Was it there? Did you get it?"

The damaged phone dropped into her hand and she held it out to him. Once he had taken it, with a heavily relieved sigh, she typed, 'I'll get you a new phone tomorrow.' She sat in one of the abandoned chairs.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" he said, waving his hands vigorously. "You've already done so much. I can handle getting a new phone for myself, it's totally fine."

She typed but gently grabbed his flapping hands before holding the message up for him. 'It's no trouble. Sometimes people like doing nice things for their friends.'

"I know that, I just . . . I don't want to cause trouble for anyone," Mikado said. "I got myself involved in this, so I have to take care of my end of it." He shook his head. "I still can't believe I didn't think to grab my phone at the time and had to send you out to get it."

'You aren't causing trouble. You didn't ask to be kidnapped. We don't mind helping you.'

"I guess," Mikado said, and tucked the phone away. He glanced down at Masaomi's face, peaceful now in sleep. "I just hope I can pay you back for it someday."

Celty chose not to argue with him over it anymore. She also noticed the look he gave Masaomi and how close the blonde was to Mikado. Her curiosity overcame her; it wasn't like she would get a better opportunity to ask. 'May I ask you a personal question?'

"Sure," Mikado said, surprised.

If she could have blushed, she would have. 'It's just that I'm confused. I thought you were dating Anri-chan and Masaomi was dating Saki-chan . . .'

"Well, Anri-san and I . . ." Mikado's cheeks tinged pink. "It's sort of complicated, because of the whole Saika thing. She needs time to get all that figured out. Masaomi is definitely dating Saki-san, though." He paused. "That wasn't really a question."

Her index fingers tapped together for a moment, showing how awkward she felt, then she started typing again. 'You and Masaomi seem closer than friends. Are the two of you dating?'

"Eh – " Mikado's cheeks went from pink to red in an instant. He cleared his throat and said, "I guess you could call it that? I mean, I don't know if it would fit a normal person's description of dating, but then again I'm not sure I know any normal people, and I, uh . . ." His voice trailed off. He looked down at Masaomi again and the flustered feeling went away. After a few moments to formulate his thoughts, he looked back at Celty and said earnestly, "I love Masaomi very much. He's very important to me. I love Anri-san very much, too. Masaomi loves Saki-san and he also loves me." He rubbed his hand over the back of his head and smiled shyly. "I don't think it necessarily has to make sense."

Celty considered this, then agreed. 'No, it doesn't have to make sense. After all, Shinra loves a headless woman.'

"Shinra-sensei is a little strange, but . . ." Mikado smiled at her. "I think it would very easy for anyone to fall in love with you."

Celty squirmed a little because she couldn't blush. 'Thank you.'

Mikado was doing all the blushing for her. "You're welcome." He yawned suddenly, then looked a little surprised at himself.

'You should sleep.' She reached out to tug on the textbook.

For a few moments, he tried to keep her from taking it. Then he looked rather sheepish and said, "I suppose there's no way I'm going to school tomorrow. Masaomi would throw three different kinds of fits. At least one of them would be apoplectic."

Celty laughed, her shoulders shaking. 'He does have a way with theatrics.'

"That's an understatement." Mikado let her take the textbook. "Good night, Celty-san."

'Good night, Mikado.' She closed the book gently and set it on the dresser before leaving the room.

oOoOo

Izaya was whistling as he made his way down the street and into Shinra's building. He hadn't slept yet, but didn't mind. The night had been too productive to simply stop for something as mundane as sleep. He checked his e-mail one last time as he rode up in the elevator, then knocked on the door to Shinra and Celty's apartment.

"Coming!" Shinra called out from inside, and the door opened a few moments later. The doctor looked surprised. "You actually came for your appointment. I've got to admit I'm surprised."

Izaya waved a hand at him. "I wouldn't want to ruin all your excellent work."

Saki and Celty were both in the living room and looked up in unison. Saki's cheerful good morning died before it left her mouth when she saw the bruising along his face and the splint on his wrist and hand. "Oooooh, that looks like it hurts." He tone was sympathetic. His fur-edged jacket was missing. The payback would be spectacular.

Celty, who had seen it all before, stuck with a 'Good morning.' There was a pause that could only be smart-assed. 'Would you like breakfast? You can look in the fridge.'

"Thank you, Celty," Izaya said, straight-faced. "Your generosity knows no bounds. But I've already eaten."

'Twit.' Somehow the text managed to convey amusement.

Saki stood from the sofa and went to stand in front of Izaya. "You," she poked him in the chest, though not very hard, "didn't tell me that they weren't human."

"Good morning, my fine protégé," Izaya said. "I didn't tell you that because I was already investigating that angle, and frankly, if you couldn't figure it out yourself, I wasn't going to waste my time imparting that information."

Saki's lips tightened and her eyebrow ticked. She reached up with deliberation, took hold of his nose between her thumb and index finger and tweaked it. Then she let go. "Hmph."

"Agreed," Shinra said brightly. He looked over at the door to the spare room and said, "We'll have to get Mikado-kun and Masaomi-kun up before I can check on Orihara-kun's wounds. Mikado-kun was getting up last time I was in there, so he should be out shortly."

Saki stepped away from Izaya and went over to the bag she had brought with her. "I'll get Masaomi after. I brought him new clothes." Then she muttered something about taking up stock in white sweatshirts.

Izaya tucked his hands behind his head. "How did the information search go?" he asked Saki.

"Good." She shot him a bright grin, giving nothing away. "How did your search go?"

"Fantastic," Izaya said, with his usual smirk.

'That's wonderful,' Celty typed. 'Share.'

"All in good time," Izaya said, and tilted his chin towards the spare room. Mikado was just coming out, his hair a little messy and a yawn still on his lips. But he was fully dressed and looked awake and coherent.

He also looked a little startled at their present company. "G-Good morning," he said, not quite able to bring himself to ask why Izaya was there. Then he glanced around and noticed who was missing. "Where's Anri-san?"

'She went to school. She said she would pick up you and Masaomi's assignments.' There was a pause as she cleared the screen. 'I drove her there and I'll pick her up. I got your new phone.'

"Oh, okay," Mikado said, torn between being glad that he would get his schoolwork and wishing that Anri had stayed at Shinra's, where it was safe. He thought to himself that if nothing else, her popularity would skyrocket after arriving at school on the back of that motorcycle. "Thank you," he added.

"What happened to your phone, Mikado-kun?" Izaya asked.

Mikado looked at him, then looked away briefly. "Ceallach-san broke it after I used it to text Masaomi my location."

Saki had pulled a bundle of clothes free from her bag. "Mikado, there are rules against giving the person trying to kill you that sort of respect."

"Eh?" Mikado asked, blinking at her. "Oh. Okay."

Saki shook her head. "I'll go wake up Masaomi now."

Celty let a sleek new smart phone drop into her hand and held it out to Mikado. It was clearly top of the line, and maybe even a small step above her own, which she had had for a while.

There was a brief pause, as if Mikado was expecting her to start typing on it or something. When it became clear that the phone was intended for him, he let out a horrified little squeak. "Celty-san! This must have cost a fortune! You didn't need to get me one so nice; I would have been fine with one like the one I had!"

Celty made a calming gesture. 'The man who runs the store is a Dollar.' In truth, knowing how Mikado was about things, she _had_ just tried to replace the broken phone with a similar model, but this had led to some confusion with the store employees. She always went to the same store to get her own upgrades because it was more comfortable when they knew her. They didn't ask awkward questions and knew what functions she most needed in a phone. So it had confused them when she wanted something so simple and without the advanced texting capabilities she needed. When she had explained the circumstances to the manager, who was a Dollar as she had just said, he had hit the ceiling. Taichou's new phone would be nothing but the best.

"That – that's even worse," Mikado stammered. "I shouldn't get stuff for free just because – I mean, it isn't – I couldn't – ooh, it has a keyboard . . ."

Celty's shoulders shook. It took her a moment to type. 'Sometimes it's the right thing for you to do.'

"I guess," Mikado said, already distracted by exploring the new features.

Izaya smirked and asked, "You need a little time alone with your new toy, Mikado-kun?"

Celty muffled Izaya's head in shadows. Mikado, for his part, seemed to notice neither Izaya's commentary nor the fact that his head was now covered with a black sphere. He was much too busy with the phone. A few moments later, Saki shuffled a sleepy-looking Masaomi out of the spare room. He was fully dressed but his hair was still in some disarray and he was rubbing at one eye. Saki looked at Izaya, noted the fact that he currently had no head, and rolled her eyes, correctly interpreting the situation.

"Ah, good morning, Masaomi-kun," Shinra said. "How are you feeling?"

"Stiff." Masaomi yawned, not at all self-conscious. He seemed like he was going to leave it there, but Saki gave him a look. "And the knife wound kinda hurts." There was another pause. "Hey, where's Izaya's head?" Another pause while his gaze panned the room. "And Anri."

"Anri-san went to school," Mikado said. "And Izaya-san's head is currently, uh, indisposed."

"How much does it hurt?" Shinra asked. "On a scale of one to ten."

Masaomi looked like he was gearing up for a fit. His hands came up to rest on his hips, elbows out, eyes widening. "School! But she could . . ."

Celty quickly stuck her PDA in his face. 'I drove her and I'll pick her up.' Masaomi was still looking a little pale, and after so much blood loss she figured they should try to keep his blood pressure from climbing.

Masaomi wilted a little. "Okay. I guess." He was clearly still unhappy. Celty pointed to Shinra, reminding Masaomi of his question. "Oh, uh, five-ish?"

"Okay." Shinra went to a cabinet, shuffled some pill bottles, and shook two pills into his hand. "Take those with some water, then wait about ten minutes before you have your breakfast. If it still hurts after breakfast, let me know. Celty, could you let Orihara-kun go so I can check his injuries?"

"Thanks." Masaomi took the pills from Shinra and started to head to the kitchen only to be stopped by Saki's hand pointing him at the sofa. He didn't argue. She went to get him a glass of water.

Celty waved a hand to free Izaya and typed a quick message which she angled for on Shinra to see. 'I need to talk to him when you're done.'

Shinra glanced over at her and gave only a slight nod to show that he had seen her message. He waved at Izaya to go with him. The other man stood, smirked at Celty, and followed the doctor into the spare room. Shinra motioned for him to wait while he stripped the sheets off the bed and put on the new set. "Those guys did quite a job on Masaomi-kun," Izaya said, looking at the bloodstains.

"Stands to reason, doesn't it?" Shinra asked. "They did quite a job on you, too."

"Mm," Izaya said.

"By now I'm sure you know way more than you're saying," Shinra said, but then grinned and said, "So do Celty and I. So maybe we can play nice and share our information when we're done with your check-up."

"We'll see," Izaya said.

Shinra had him sit down and began unwrapping bandages. The wounds on his abdomen were healing nicely; the bruises on his face had begun to fade. "Is your ankle still hurting?"

"Only if I walk on it too much," Izaya said.

It didn't surprise Shinra to see that the wounds on his wrists were not healing at anywhere near the same speed. They still looked red and raw in places, and the bruises were dark and ugly. He clicked his tongue, wondering if there was any sort of faerie remedy for wounds made by iron. Since they were usually fatal, he doubted it.

"What?" Izaya asked, after Shinra had spent three times as long on his wrists as on any other injury.

"They aren't healing very well," was all Shinra said. He decided to use the same treatment he would if they really had been acid burns, since Celty had thought that was a good comparison. It was too late to run them under cold water, so he applied some cold compresses and then loosely wrapped them again. Izaya watched this process in interest. "Okay, you're all done for now. I'm going to want to change those compresses before you leave."

"Understood." Izaya seemed more amused than anything else.

Shinra stuck his head into the hallway and said, "Celty? Would you come in here for a minute?"

Celty stood from her seat in the living room with the kids and made her way down the hall. She ruffled Masaomi's hair on her way by. She entered the spare room and shut the door behind her. 'How is he?'

Izaya looked like he might be interested in the answer to this question himself; he was obviously puzzled about why Shinra had called Celty into the room. Shinra pushed his glasses up on his nose and said, "He's fine, except his wrists. Like we thought. They're not healing very well. I thought you might have a suggestion."

'Just treat them the way you would a normal burn.' She cleared the screen. 'Contact burns will heal on their own with time. It's deeper wounds that are the real trouble.' She let Shinra read that before clearing her screen again and writing a message for Izaya. 'I know why those cuffs hurt you so much.'

"Believe it or not, I was getting that idea," Izaya said.

'I'm sure.' Somehow typed words could be dry in tone. She leaned a hip against the end table. 'Do you know? You're the one who separates yourself from humans.' Celty figured that if she could get his mind to start picking at it on his own he might not be quite so blindsided in a few minutes.

"Sure," Izaya said, with a slight shrug. "I mean, I'm well aware that I'm . . . not like most people." His tone was just as dry. "I've never thought about it that much."

'You may want to think about it. Those cuffs were made of iron. To a fae it's like a poison and an acid all in one.'

Izaya's face was blank for a few moments while his brain clicked through all the implications of this simple statement. He looked down at his bandaged wrists, then back at Celty. "I'm not like you," he said, firm on this fact. "And I don't think I'm like the assholes who held me captive."

'You aren't a dullahan and you aren't a sidhe, but there are a lot of other kinds of fae.' She had never had to break the news to a changeling child before, so this was all new ground to her. She was trying to tread softly.

Izaya shook his head. "Wait. Start at the beginning."

'You're a changeling. That's a fae child given to a human family to raise. Magic is laid on the child to keep it seemingly human.' Celty could tell she was starting to ruffle Izaya's calm and that wasn't easy to do at all.

"Why would a faerie give their baby to a human family?" Izaya asked. Then he added, almost hastily, "And start at the beginning there, too. I don't know a lot about faeries."

Celty pondered. 'Shinra? Can you get my laptop? I need more room.' The little PDA screen just wasn't quite enough here.

"Sure," Shinra said. He seemed a little relieved to have been given an out of the conversation. He went to get her laptop and returned with it a few moments later. "I'm gonna go, uh, check on Masaomi-kun and make sure they got him some breakfast. Unless you guys would like me to stay . . .?"

Izaya simply shook his head, clearly ready to focus on whatever Celty was going to tell him.

'We'll be fine.' Celty touched two fingers to Shinra's lips and then opened her laptop. 'There are a lot of reasons. The first thing to know is that fae value children _very_ highly. Birth rates are much lower. Sometimes a fae child will be given to human parents as a punishment. Fae children, compared to humans, can cause a lot of trouble and be difficult to manage. It also usually means that the rightful human child was stolen. It works out for the baby because the human world is usually safer for us. So if a parent feared for the baby's safety, it might be sent here. Sometimes it's a reward for a human. Do a fae a good turn and you get a child who won't get sick, who will be bright and smart and stand out. Sometimes it's politics. Nothing says 'screw you' to an enemy than stealing and hiding their long awaited and treasured child.'

"So how do you find out which it is?" Izaya asked. He was concentrating on gathering information; the emotional implications were all going to wait until he had a more thorough picture of what had happened.

Celty felt almost guilty. She had just separated Izaya from the family that raised him and basically told him that there were other parents out there who undoubtedly wanted him. 'I don't know exactly. I'm really surprised there is no one watching out for you. I didn't know until recently.' She paused, thinking. 'I suppose the same way you find out anything. Start by asking questions. When this mess is dealt with, I'll help as best I can.'

Izaya gave a sudden nod, then shelved all that, too. "You didn't know. I didn't know. You said there's magic to keep it 'seemingly human'. What does that mean?"

'A glamour. It's like an illusion of sorts. There are different kinds, but what we're talking about would hide most of your fae characteristics even from you. It would limit any extra strength or speed, hide physical features, protect you from things that would normally hurt us.' She gestured at his wrists. 'Think of it like . . . wearing a wet suit. It protects you from some things, but makes other things harder. You're wearing a human suit over the real you.'

"The real me . . ." Now that the idea was settling, Izaya thought he might like it. And it would certainly explain a lot. "How does it come off?"

'An adult fae has to do it the first time. Do you want me to? Once it's off, it will never be quite the same for you again.'

Izaya studied her for a long minute, then laughed. "How ironic. I specialize in truth, but I've been living a lie this whole time." His gaze went somewhat cold as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Take it off." A little more quietly. "It won't seem real until you do."

'You eyes will be the same.' Somehow she thought that having something that didn't change might help. She stood behind him as he faced the mirror, reached one hand around to lay a finger against his lips, telling him to stay quiet. After that she ran her hands up his arms from wrist to shoulder where her hands rested for a moment. She couldn't do glamours herself, that was not a gift a dullahan had, so she had to go slow and feel her way. She could destroy them, but that was always harsh and to a living creature possibly painful. That wasn't what she wanted to do here. This was all Izaya had ever known, and the magic was part of him, so she had to be careful, had to only peel it away without damaging it.

This apparently was instinct, something that was written in her heart rather than her head, but it didn't surprise her. Children were special to all of them. Her fingers ghosted up over his cheeks and then ears and curled a little when she reached the top of his head. Then she pulled carefully. The magic parted and fell away leaving Izaya standing there looking much the same but sharper somehow, ears pointed, but his eyes were still the same red-brown of before.

Izaya took in a somewhat shaky breath. He was surprised not by his face in the mirror, but by how different everything felt. Things he had never noticed, he was now keenly aware of. The sharp smell of the disinfectant Shinra used. The dust that danced in the light that trickled in through the window. The distant sound of traffic.

Everything suddenly seemed much slower, like time was working on a completely different scale. His body felt different as well; he was more aware than before of where all his limbs were and their relationship to different things in the room. The tag of his shirt was scratching the back of his neck. The pain in his wrists had increased about threefold, but the other injuries were barely noticeable.

After a few moments to process all that, he finally looked in the mirror. Beyond the pointed ears, he looked much the same. He thought his hair was a little longer. His fingers too, maybe. When he spoke, the timber of his voice was just a little bit lighter. He wasn't sure a human would even notice. Of course, what he said was merely, "Uh . . ." which he was fairly certain was not going to win him any awards for eloquence.

'Are you okay?' She looked him over. A puck. That was what she had thought he would turn out to be, but it was almost impossible to be sure before the glamour had been lifted.

After a long moment, Izaya said, "I really am not sure."

'That seems pretty reasonable.' Dullahans were never changelings. Some things just couldn't be hidden. One's head not being attached was one of them. She couldn't exactly imagine how he felt. It seemed like the best thing was to just go slow.

"What else do I need to know?" Izaya asked.

'You're a puck.' She figured she would give these things to him one at a time.

"And what exactly is a puck?"

'A prankster, manipulator, trickster. You.' She clearly didn't mean it in an insulting manner.

"Ah, I see," Izaya said.

'You're going to live for a very, very long time. You're almost a baby by our standards.'

Izaya wasn't sure where to begin dealing with that, so he simply filed it away. "Okay. And the iron thing. I have to avoid iron. What about steel? My knife is steel."

'Really avoid iron. If it breaks your skin and touches your bloodstream you are in very serious trouble. Steel is safer. You might have some immunity because you grew up handling it. Your glamour will make it safer while you wear it,' she gestured at his wrists which and the slightly awkward way he was holding them away from himself, 'which I'm sure you've noticed, but I might suggest gloves.'

"Hm." Izaya didn't really like the idea of wearing gloves. When it wasn't winter, they would look odd and make him stick out. Well, he supposed that by the time people had noticed him, he was usually prepared to stick out. Particularly if his knife was going to be making an appearance. "I can put the glamour back on?"

'Yes. Pucks are usually very good at them.'

"Good," Izaya said. "I don't think I can go out like this. Though it might be amusing to watch the kids goggle and stare."

'They'd get over it quick. I have no head.'

"True, but they're used to that," Izaya said. "You've never had a head, at least not while you've known them. This," he gestured to himself, "is new."

Celty waved a hand. 'I'll show you how and then you can do as you please.'

"Okay. Have at it." Izaya frowned. "I'm going to owe you after this."

'No.' It was very firm and on its own line. 'You're a changeling. Knowing these things is your right and the duty of your clan to teach you. You don't owe me. We need to talk about deals.'

"Deals? And since when are we part of the same clan?"

'We're clan because I found you and right now you have no one else. Neither do I.' She wilted a little at that and then waved it off. 'Deals. Don't make deals you aren't sure you can follow through on. And _especially_ avoid them with other fae. Ever if you can help it. They can be binding for us."

Izaya grimaced. "So, don't do things like tell Mikado-kun I wouldn't tell anyone he was the leader of the Dollars, and then tell his best friend? That's gonna put a crimp in my business."

'If you did that to another fae, it could cost your life. You're safer with humans. It's good business for you to follow through, but they have no magical hold over you.'

"Right, right." Izaya waved this off with a sigh. "Not spectacular, but I think I can deal with it in return for the perks. I'm sure I can find loopholes if I need to."

'Yes. Any other questions before I teach you how to do the glamour?'

Izaya shook his head. "Give me half an hour to myself or ten minutes on the internet and I'll come up with another hundred, but I can't think of any right now. And if we stay in here much longer, the others will start to wonder what's going on."

'All right. You should be able to still feel the glamour around you, maybe clinging like a cobweb. Remember how you felt and looked before you took it off, and how you'll look and feel once you put it back on. Imagine you can just put it back on like a pair of gloves. It helps if you close your eyes and try to see it in your mind.'

Izaya did as she instructed, focusing on each individual difference that he had noticed: the sounds and smells, the way time moved, the pain in his wrists, the air around his hands. He concentrated on the feeling of the magic around him, which he could still feel, like a door between him and the world that was waiting to be closed. It was harder than he would have thought to voluntarily muffle those senses and put away what he really was. After several tries, he felt something click, and opened his eyes to see the more familiar version of himself in the mirror. "Huh," he said.

'Congratulations.' If she could have smiled she would have. 'It will get easier with practice.'

"Yeah," Izaya said. "I'll be doing that a lot. But as much as I'd like to go home and sequester myself with the internet and/or a library full of books, I have some information to share with you guys."

'Feel free to ask questions as you need answers.' She figured that was the best way to handle it until he was free to throw himself into an information hunt.

He nodded. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing to the door. She nodded and took a moment to close the laptop. As she went towards the door, Izaya reached out and caught her by the elbow. "Hey. Thanks."

She touched two fingers to his forehead. Then she turned to leave again, beckoning him to follow. Looking a little puzzled at the affectionate gesture, he did so, putting back on his usual smirk like it was just another glamour.

oOoOo 


	9. Chapter 8

_A/N: Man, remember when I said that writing Izaya receiving life-changing news was hard? Double that for Shizuo. -_-;;;_

Chapter Eight

Celty made her way back into the living room and set her laptop out of the way. Normal conversation with anyone but Shinra was easier with her PDA. The others had finished breakfast. Mikado was sitting on the sofa, working on the homework he hadn't been able to finish the night before and half-heartedly nagging Masaomi about doing his own. Masaomi was sort of doing his, but was mostly just slumped down next to Mikado. Saki sat nearby doing something with her phone.

"So," Izaya said, flopping down in the remaining chair as if his injuries didn't exist, "are we going to pool information or what?"

Saki looked up and grinned. "I'll take Ceallach. You've got the Mask?" she asked, and he nodded. "Okay. Our friend Ceallach is from Ireland – Dublin, to be specific. He's a pretty big name over there, very big in organized crime. We're not talking small gangs like color gangs, this is more like the Mafia. He's been around for a long time; nobody seems sure of how long, but there are rumors of him going back several hundred years. Most people discount those because, of course, he couldn't have lived that long, but since he's fae, the rumors are probably true."

'He could easily be that old,' Celty confirmed.

"His gang deals mostly in drugs and prostitution, and money laundering," Saki said. "Like I said, big-time crime. There isn't a lot known about him personally. This 'Green Nights' thing is new; I think he picked it up to try to blend in with the color gangs in the city. But he is known for having a pretty big gang. He's also known for being ruthlessly efficient."

Mikado stirred slightly. "He said that to me. That he prizes efficiency. That's why he wanted to take over the Dollars instead of forming his own gang."

"Same with the Scarves," Masaomi said.

'If things get ugly, he'd rather use the humans as cannon fodder,' Celty said. 'He won't forget what Masaomi did.'

Mikado elbowed Masaomi in his unwounded side. "Hope you're proud of yourself," he said, the words unmistakably affectionate.

"Damned right I am." He was profoundly glad that Mikado wasn't put off by the violence and loss of life.

Izaya glanced between the two of them, then looked at Saki. His smirk hovered at the corners of his mouth as he put together the particulars of the relationship, which apparently amused him. "The Mercurial Mask," he said, "is a magical artifact that's been around for so long that nobody seems to know who made it or where it came from. Anyone here know the story of Thomas the Rhymer?"

Masaomi and Saki both looked blank. Celty raised a hand. Mikado nodded and said, "True Thomas, right? I remember reading about it."

"Exactly," Izaya said, with a nod at Mikado. For the benefits of Masaomi and Saki, he said, "True Thomas was given the gift of prophecy by a faerie. Basically, everything he said was true."

"That . . . might really suck," Masaomi finally said.

"I'm not sure I get it," Shinra said. "I mean, I can see how it would suck for Thomas, but . . ."

"You're thinking about it the wrong way," Izaya told him. "It's not just that Thomas couldn't lie. It's that he always spoke the truth. If I asked Thomas what flavor cake you had at your eighth birthday party, he would tell me the truth, regardless of whether or not he had been there, regardless of whether or not _you_ even remembered. If I asked True Thomas what day I was going to die, he would tell me, because he could say nothing _except_ the truth."

"Oh." Shinra looked interested. "That's amazing!"

'It was an incredibly powerful gift,' Celty agreed.

"Well, the Mercurial Mask is said to provide the same gift to whoever wears it," Izaya said.

"Wow." Saki imagined all they things they could learn.

'Oh, not one of _those_ things,' Celty slumped.

"Meaning?" Shinra asked.

'Things like this are always trouble. You can't damage or destroy them. They're too powerful.'

"Which is probably why it's here," Izaya continued. "According to the rumor, it was stolen from its original owner and has been passed around through different groups. A lot of powerful people are rumored to have had their hands on it. Then a little over twenty years ago, it was stolen again and went missing. Ceallach has been looking for it ever since, and apparently tracked it here, where it was hidden."

"So who hid it?" Mikado asked.

Izaya shrugged. "No one seems to know. What I can't figure out is why he hid it at all, instead of using it."

Celty held up a hand and then began to type. 'They're waiting for everyone else to forget they have it. Otherwise, people would come after it. They might still be keeping an eye on it. Or they might just be letting whoever they chose to protect it do that. Ceallach certainly doesn't seem afraid of them, whoever they are.'

"Great, so now what do we do with the asshole?" Masaomi asked.

Izaya shrugged. "He won't leave without it, I don't think. So our options are limited. If we want him out of Ikebukuro, we're probably going to have to remove him by force."

'Harder than it sounds,' Celty pointed out. 'He can gate.'

"Meaning?" Mikado asked. He thought he knew, but wanted to be sure of the specifics.

'He can literally open a doorway between wherever he is and wherever he wants to be.' There was a pause as she cleared the screen. 'It means if we get rid of him he can come back, and it makes him very hard to corner.'

"I bet he'd have a hard time gating with six inches of iron in his stomach," Izaya said, glanced at Masaomi, and said casually, "You up for it, Masaomi-kun?"

"For once we agree." Masaomi sat up and winced. "Buuut, give me a couple of days."

Mikado looked between the two of them and said, "I'm very certain that there's an option here that doesn't involve putting Masaomi back on this guy's radar."

'We'll try to find one.'

"What, you think I was volunteering to go alone?" Masaomi asked.

Mikado and Saki exchanged a look. "No," Mikado said slowly. "It's just that you're not always rational about things when your friends are in danger, so . . ."

"We just thought we could chop at the knees of this particularly stupid idea," Saki finished, giving Izaya the type of look that showed she clearly didn't appreciate his suggestion.

Celty decided to divert them all. 'So what other options do we have?'

"Well, if what he wants is the mask, we need to get there first," Mikado said. "I know you said we can't destroy it, Celty-san, but maybe we could return it to its original owner, or hide it somewhere else, or even ask it how to get rid of Ceallach-san."

"I like it," Izaya said, with a nod. "It'd be a real kick in the ass to this guy if we found what he wanted first."

"You're really pissed at them, aren't you," Saki asked.

Izaya looked at her. "They took my jacket."

Saki was smart enough not to point out that, as much as that damaged his dignity, it probably wasn't all there was to it. "Right, well, it's all well and good to say we're going to get there first, but he's been looking for twenty years, how are we going to get to it in a matter of days?"

"He obviously doesn't know where it is beyond the fact that it's in Ikebukuro," Mikado said. "And we have the information network he wanted so badly. We need to find out more detail about where it was hidden so we can start looking for it."

"I didn't – " Izaya's phone let out a sudden strain of music. "Hang on," he said, frowning at the screen, and answered it. There was a long silence. Then he said, "Well, it's kind of you to say so," in an amused drawl. Another pause. "Oh?" He sounded disinterested. "I suppose. You've gone about things rather backwards, you know . . . sure, I'm a man of business. No problem." He laughed. "I'll take it under advisement." He shut the phone with a snap. "Looks like he's getting desperate. Ceallach just tried to hire me."

Saki laughed and clapped like this was the best joke ever. "Oooh, that's rich."

"He tried to hire you?" Mikado blinked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It does if you look at things from his point of view," Izaya said. "Ceallach is someone who's used to getting what he wants. I got his attention when I escaped from his little hideout. He's decided he can deal with me like an equal. He also obviously thinks that if he throws enough money at me, the fact that he kidnapped me and tortured me won't matter."

"That . . ." Mikado seemed at a loss for words. "That seems stupid," he finally said.

"You could always say yes and lie. A lot," Masaomi suggested.

"Ah, a tempting proposal," Izaya said. "I have to admit that it would give me a great deal of joy to overcharge him and then provide as much false information as I could get him to stomach, despite the damage that might do to my reputation as a broker." His gaze slid sideways to Celty, remembering what she had said about deals, and he said, "But I don't think it would work. If I agree too easily, he'll try to verify things I've told him, and from there it could just get messy. How about you, my fine protégé?"

Saki eyed him quietly for a long moment. "You're up to something. But all right."

Masaomi made a small strangled noise as he forced himself not to protest. He didn't want to have another argument with Saki over Izaya that he knew he would lose.

"Great." Izaya clapped his hands together. "Ceallach said he would need my answer by noon. At that point, I'll tell him to get lost. Saki, give it a few more hours. I would contact him this evening to offer your services. You want his number from my cell? Or will you go through your own channels?"

"I'll take it from you. Might as well make my life easier. I wouldn't tell him how I got the number either way." Saki was clearly enjoying the idea of screwing this man over.

Izaya took out his phone and texted the number over to Saki. "Now, if we're done for today," he said, "I've got some things I need to do. Let me know after you've talked to Ceallach. Once we know exactly what information he needs, we'll know more about what we're looking for."

Celty braced herself for a list of questions by text through the rest of the day. She still had to find a way to talk to Shizuo, too.

"Will do," Saki said cheerfully.

oOoOo

Celty had texted Shizuo earlier and asked him to meet her at Russia Sushi. It wasn't their normal spot, which was the park, but this was not news she could break to him in a public place. She could ask the manager for one of the private rooms. She wasn't sure how he would take it. Izaya had been shaken, and Shizuo might take it even harder. He was extremely close to his brother and wouldn't appreciate being told that they weren't related by blood.

She settled the bike in a shady spot because her horse, given its nature, did not enjoy being in the sun. She could understand that. The sunlight made shadows starker and in the case of dullahans they always told the truth. Her shadow would always be headless no matter what sort of helmet she wore. The bike's would always be a fae horse. She also knew that the bright light made it harder for her poor friend to maintain its disguise. Someday, when she had her head back and didn't have to fear being separated from it forever, she would turn it loose to have the freedom it deserved. For now, she did what she could for it.

Today she carried a backpack with her because she wanted to have her laptop. Like Izaya, Shizuo would need more from her than she could fit on a PDA screen. The bag was a gift from Shinra and didn't fit her image as the fearsome Black Rider at all. It was a girlish pink color and somehow he had found a skull and crossbones patch for it where the 'bones' were made of scythes. The skull had a little pink bow. She wondered how long he had to scour the internet to find something like that for her. She loved the bag and loved Shinra even more because he thought to get her something feminine and fun. Something that fit her but wasn't something that most people saw or expected from her.

Shizuo had apparently beaten her there because she was directed into one of the smaller private room. 'Hello,' she said, as she settled on the tatami mat across from him. She sat Indian-style like Shizuo, even knowing it was considered unladylike. In some ways, she knew she would never conform to Japanese standards. Shizuo nodded in greeting. Sitting at her place on the table was a mug of green tea that looked strong enough to peel paint. It smelled just as strong. 'Thank you.' She didn't need to eat, but she missed the social aspect of it, missed the taste and the feel.

Shizuo nodded again to accept her thanks, and regarded her seriously for a moment. She seemed ill-at-ease. He doubted most people would notice, but he had always enjoyed watching her, always found comfort in her presence. He was curious about why she had called him again so soon after their last meeting. "What's up?" he finally asked.

Celty tapped the tip of her index finger against the table nervously, trying to decide how to start. She had been thinking about it for hours now and still hadn't come up with much. Shizuo wasn't going to appreciate the news no matter how she put it. She decided to use the PDA, at least for now. If she broke out the laptop right away, she would only make him nervous. If Shizuo got nervous. 'I wanted to talk to you about what the Nights said to you the other day.'

"Tch," Shizuo said. "You still on about them? They won't last long in this town, the way they act."

'They're after something, but we can get back to that.' She showed him the message and then took a moment to phrase the next. 'Because this is only partly about the Nights. Remember how you were worried over what they had called you?'

Shizuo looked at her over the rims of his glasses, his gaze becoming suspicious. He wasn't sure where this was heading, but he _was_ sure that he didn't like it. "Yeah."

'It wasn't an insult. But it was true. Not the way you thought, though.' Celty held the PDA in one hand and curled her other over his.

Shizuo suddenly wished they were having this meeting in the park. Public or no. He could smoke in the park. If he lit up a cigarette in here, Simon would take his fingers off with a cleaver. He looked at Celty's hand as if it was from another planet. "What?"

Celty took her hand back slowly so she could type. 'I didn't realize before, and I'm sorry for that, but . . . they were right. You aren't human. Which isn't a bad thing.'

"How can it not be a bad thing?" Shizuo felt his fist clenching down on the mug, which was only moments away from shattering. His tenuous self-control was starting to slip.

'I'm not human.' She again put a hand over his, hoping she wouldn't soon be pulling ceramic out of his hand or him.

"I know that," Shizuo said, biting the words out. His jaw clenched after he spoke, to keep him from saying anything else. He didn't know what he would say. He had never been good with words. If there was some appropriate response to this situation, he certainly didn't know what it was.

'So it doesn't have to be a bad thing.'

"How can you _say_ that?" Shizuo asked, his temper slipping a little further. "You've always known and you're in complete control. You've never hurt somebody just by being exactly what you are. You haven't spent the last twenty years bringing shame to your family for something that you couldn't do anything about. You don't know anything!"

'I know that this isn't your fault. I know that you're a good person. I know that you're _young_. And I'm not in control. I don't know where my own damned head is.'

He glared at her. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

'No.' She gave her own version of a sigh. There was nothing she could do but move forward. 'You're a changeling.'

"Great," Shizuo said, without asking for an explanation.

Celty wanted to bang her head against the table, except that she didn't know where the damned thing was. 'Shizuo, I'm not telling this to hurt you.'

"Then why are you telling me?" he snapped suddenly. "What's it matter anyway? So I'm not human. I can't say it's any sort of surprise. But if I didn't know, then I didn't – " He looked away, suddenly ashamed of himself. "I didn't have to deal with it."

Celty took her laptop out then and flipped it open. 'I'm telling you because I want to keep you safe. And I want you to understand that you aren't alone.'

Shizuo shook his head. He knew that Celty would never understand what he had gone through, any more than he could understand what it was like to desperately search for the missing part of himself. "Just say what you have to say."

Celty wilted but continued to type. 'You're a changeling. A fae child hidden in the human world. Usually with the parents' knowledge, but I'm pretty sure you were stolen.' She looked at Shizuo, who was just staring at her, but then kept typing. 'You're a troll. It wasn't an insult. Normally changelings have their magic hidden until an adult undoes the spell and can help them deal with it.'

"So what's been happening with mine?" Shizuo asked, rather grudgingly.

'I think something slipped through when you were younger. Maybe the binding spell wasn't done right, but the temper and the strength slipped through for just long enough. Then I think when your human body couldn't handle it, the spell slipped more and more just so you wouldn't die. The more it slipped, the harder it became to control your temper, because it's natural to trolls, just like all that strength and the love of calmness and peace.'

"I guess I should just go find myself a bridge to live under," Shizuo said, with uncharacteristic bitterness tingeing his voice.

'Why would anyone in their right mind give up indoor plumbing?'

"You tell me," he said. "You're the troll expert."

'I'd recommend a quiet apartment, some houseplants, and a steady schedule.'

Shizuo looked at her over the rim of his mug, his temper easing down somewhat. "I can't tell whether or not you're being serious."

If she had a face, she would have been smiling. 'A little of both. The myth about bridges is partly true. No one was likely to bother someone living under a bridge, and being close to water and nature can be soothing. But bridges aren't what they used to be and a shower really is worth killing for. So I'm very serious about house plants and a steady schedule.'

"You're trying to make this into something that it's not," Shizuo said.

'I am?'

"Yes," he growled at her. "Something not . . . awful."

Celty's palm slapped down on the table. 'You are not awful.' She could see very easily where he was going to take that statement.

Shizuo didn't retreat an inch. "Yes, I am," he snapped. "You don't know how often I hurt people who haven't done anything wrong, just because I can't stop myself."

'No you aren't.' Her movements were sharp and fierce. She clearly wasn't having any of this. 'I realize things have gone wrong, but it wasn't your fault. You should never have been left to handle it on your own. There is no was you could have. There is someone to blame, but that someone _isn't_ you.'

Shizuo pushed back from the table. "I'm done talking about this," he said.

'We aren't done, but I'll let it go for now.' She reached out and wrapped a hand around his wrist asking him to stay. 'Please.'

If it had been anyone else, Shizuo would have put them through the wall – or at the very least, stormed off. Being near Celty had always calmed him. Even so, he came close. He felt claustrophobic suddenly, trapped. "Fine. Tch. But not here. Damn place is . . . let's go to the park."

She gave him a thumbs up to agree and closed her laptop without another word. He stalked out of the restaurant without another word, lighting up a cigarette as soon as they were outside. He didn't bother to wait and see if she was keeping up with him. She was, but she let him set the pace. They could walk and he could smoke until he was ready to settle. He went all the way around the block and was well into his second cigarette before he finally headed towards the park, and settled on the low stone wall, not looking at her.

She sat next to him quietly for a few minutes before dropping her PDA into her hand and typing. 'There are a couple of things you still need to know, but I'll make it quick and then leave you be.'

He looked over at her and then felt inexplicably bad, like he was the one in the wrong for upsetting her. His teeth clenched down on the cigarette. "Okay."

Celty nodded her helmet. 'I know you're pretty much indestructible, but you and all fae are susceptible to iron.'

"Hn. Okay."

'And steel, though I think you may have built up some immunity to that, courtesy of living in a human world.'

Shizuo nodded and said nothing.

'Watch out for making deals and promises. I don't know how binding they are for trolls but I don't want you to get hurt.'

"Tch. I'm not in the business of making deals anyway."

'I know, but still.' She paused. 'I just want you to be careful. The Green Nights have been awfully interested in some strange things so please be careful.'

"As if I know how," he commented.

'Try?'

Shizuo shrugged. It was more of his usual shrug of assent than a shrug of neutrality.

'Thank you. Do you have any questions?'

There was a long silence. Then Shizuo looked at her and said, "I thought trolls were ugly and hairy and ten feet tall."

'Well, you are awfully tall.' The way she moved made it seem like a gentle tease. 'Not all of them. There are different breeds of trolls. There are some . . . but no, it's more your nature, personality, and gifts. If I lifted the last of the glamour from you, you might have pointed ears and be a little bulkier. That's all.'

"I'll pass." Shizuo ground out his cigarette with his heel, picked up the butt, and tucked it into the little envelope he carried.

'I figured.' She stood then. She had told him she would leave him be. 'Let me know when you're okay with talking again.' She didn't imagine he would appreciate her company for a while. Maybe a long while.

Shizuo stared moodily off into the distance. "Later," he said, without looking at her.

Celty gave a nod and walked away. There wasn't much else she could do. The walk back to her bike and then the ride home seemed incredibly long to her, and as she wheeled the bike in, she was glad she wasn't capable of speaking because she didn't want to have to say anything. Shinra looked up as she came in, and as always, his face lit up an extra hundred watts when he saw her. "Celty! Welcome home!" She waved a little, appreciating the gesture but not up to matching it. Shinra winced. "Didn't go well, huh?"

There was a long pause as she held still trying to decide how to respond to that. She gave in and threw herself at him. Startled, he had to grab the table with one hand to keep from being knocked over. He was suddenly very glad that the three teenagers were holed up in the spare room doing who-knew-what, so he and Celty were spared an audience. He patted her gingerly on the back. "You okay?"

She pulled away enough to type, pausing only to chuck the helmet at the sofa. 'He's angry with me! And says he's an awful person! I didn't mean to upset him! He'll never talk to me again!'

"Hey, hey," Shinra said, "let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is Shizuo. He gets angry. He'll get over it. He nearly broke my arm like eight different times in high school, and then he would say hi the next day like nothing had ever happened."

'This is different. This wasn't _temper_. He was rational and calm and didn't throw anything.'

Shinra tried to picture Shizuo taking the news that calmly. It was difficult. "Even so. He knows you didn't mean to hurt his feelings. And you're one of his best friends." He hugged her. "It's gonna be fine, I promise. Shizuo knows better than to blame the courier." Celty just leaned against him. "Just give him some time to work through it on his own. He's always been that way. And the fact that he _didn't_ explode means worlds about how much being around you helps him."

'Are you sure?'

"I am positive," he said, "and I'm a genius. So it all works out." He smiled at her.

'You're an idiot.' But she hugged him tightly.

"An idiot savant?" he asked hopefully.

'How about you settle for being my idiot?'

Shinra's eyes sparkled. "Celty! That's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me!" Before she could comment on exactly how pathetic that was, he added, "Anyway, don't worry so much. Compared to the disaster that's going to happen when Shizuo and Orihara-kun find out they're _both_ fae and thus stuck with each other for several centuries or millennia rather than decades . . . this was a walk in the park. Literally. Am I right?"

'. . . I have to go kill myself now.'

Shinra laughed. "Oh, come on. I know that deep down, you're happy about this. You may even be happy about Orihara-kun." He poked her in the shoulder. "It's nice to know that there are going to be some people around who'll last as long as you will, right?"

In a way, Shinra was right. It was nice to know. But it also brought home the fact that if she didn't get her head back, the person she wanted with her the most was going to be the first and maybe only person she would lose. She hugged Shinra again. He patted her on the back. "Just give Shizuo some time to cool down," he said, not realizing what she was thinking about. "I think, given some time, he'll be okay with it. He just needs to wrap his brain around it."

Celty didn't feel the need to tell him how her thoughts had shifted. The subject of her head was always a touchy one between them, and she didn't want to fight with him. So she pulled back a little. 'You're right. It's in his nature to not like sudden change. But still, it didn't go well.'

Shinra shrugged. "You're still in one piece. Russia Sushi is still in one piece. I'd say it went about as well as could have possibly been expected."

'I wasn't worried about _me_, you ninny.'

"I was," Shinra said.

That startled her. 'Why? You know I'm basically indestructible.'

He shrugged again. "Because I worry."

Celty considered that. 'Thank you.'

Shinra smiled at her. "C'mon. Let's go watch a movie to cheer you up." Celty laced her fingers through Shinra's and let him lead her to the sofa and television.

oOoOo

It was rare for the citizens of Ikebukuro to see Izaya in anything but a good mood. Normally, they would see him bouncing down the street, walking along the rails or hopping from bench to bench as he whistled, pleased with the world and his life and himself. Sometimes they would see him in a fight, though to be honest his attitude differed little.

On a more rare occasion, they would see him pissed off about something. Even Izaya couldn't win them all, and though he usually took a loss in stride - already working out how to turn it around and make the outcome favor him - some things, like being ignored or being insulted or Russia Sushi being sold out of ootoro - irritated him. Most people gave him a wide berth if they saw him sauntering along with his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched in, face blank of his usual smirk though it was rarely set in a frown.

Nobody had seen him like this, though: walking down the sidewalk with a pensive look on his face, staring out at nothing like he could see the secrets of the universe. His gait was completely devoid of his usual skipping glee or any sort of angry stalk. He was just . . . walking. It looked bizarre on him, like a coat that didn't fit.

Which made sense, he thought to himself. That was what his entire life to date had been. How had Celty phrased it? Like he was wearing a human suit.

He had a lot to think about, but even so, he almost wished that Shizuo or somebody would come pick a fight with him. It would have gotten his mind off of things. It was an odd mood for him. He normally loved thinking about things, putting facts together, twisting the natural state of the universe until it suited him. This, though, had been a puzzle he had never been able to solve. The puzzle of his own existence.

Nobody had ever tried to say that Izaya was _normal_, not even him, but there was a far cry being 'not normal' and 'not human'. Izaya had taken to referring to humans as a general whole to distance himself, but he had never really known why. It was just something he did, the way he collected information and manipulated people and brushed his teeth in the morning. Just part of him. Izaya loved studying other people, but he had never put in a great deal of effort into studying himself. He did what he pleased, because it pleased him. There was no point in searching for a deeper meaning.

Nobody seemed to have guessed that he actually wasn't human, despite the way he talked about humanity as if he wasn't part of it. Even people who ought to have noticed, like Celty, never had. Izaya shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and wondered how Ceallach had known, if Ceallach had known. It was possible they had used those manacles just because they were the ones that were handy. Or it was possible that they had used them to get just the effect they had obtained. Either way, there was no way that they would have missed what had happened, so if Ceallach and his gang hadn't known before, they certainly knew by now.

Izaya wasn't sure how any sort of normal person would handle suddenly finding out that there weren't human, but he was handling it the same way he handled anything - by wanting to know more about it. Once he had more pieces, he would be able to fit them together into a complete picture. He walked from Shinra's back to his own office.

Namie was sitting on the sofa, leafing through a magazine. Izaya sometimes wondered why he paid her; it wasn't as if she actually did any work. Then again, she could be amusing at times. Namie was like him in some ways - she was very alone, though it hadn't been by choice. She had needed somewhere to go. The fact that she had picked Izaya to go to fascinated him. He wondered if she was aware of exactly how instrumental he had been in her destruction.

"Welcome back," she said, not looking up as he shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it in the vague direction of the coat hook. He didn't like that jacket anyway; he hadn't worn it since high school. It wasn't flashy enough for him.

"Did you have fun without me?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," Namie said, her voice conveying entire universes of boredom. "It was thrilling."

"Good," he said. He looked around his office, at the stacks of books. There was probably plenty of information there, though he figured the 'net would be his primary source, as usual. But he didn't really want to read. He wanted real, applicable information. "Take a vacation," he said.

Now Namie set down her magazine and looked up. It was the first time she had seen him since his disappearance. "What?" she asked.

"I've got some things to do," he said. "Call it 'me time'. I hear Okinawa is great this time of year."

"You need 'me time'?" Namie was laughing at him.

"Yep," he said, and looked over at the shelf where Celty's head sat behind a stack of books. He would have to take care of that, too. He had told Shinra it was safe, but he wasn't sure his office was right now.

Namie followed his gaze. "What are you up to?" she asked.

"Up to?" Izaya laughed. "Namie-san, you wound me! I'll have you remember that the last time I was up to something, you took shameless advantage to get back at someone who had horribly wronged you."

"Exactly. If I know what's going on, I may be able to take shameless advantage again."

Izaya shook his head, suddenly serious. "Not this time. Trust me."

Namie looked over at him, then calmly closed her magazine and stood. She looked at the puddle of black fabric on the floor and said, "That's not your usual jacket, is it?"

"No," he said.

She put the magazine down. "I'll have my cell if you need me." She stepped over to the jacket, hung it on the hook, and then left the office.

Izaya waited until the door had shut behind her. He walked over and locked it, then pulled the shades down so the office was dim. He flipped on the lights and stood in front of the mirror. For a few long moments, he studied himself, trying to discern where he stopped and the glamour started.

Shedding the false face was a lot easier to do than putting it back on had been. It dropped away almost immediately, melting as if it had never been there with a faint ripple. Then he fumbled around until his true face was hidden again. He dropped it. Put it back on. Dropped it. Put it back on. It got a little bit easier every time he did it.

Nearly an hour later, the glamour would come and go in a matter of seconds, and Izaya finally stepped away from the mirror. He left it off, to get used to how it felt to be in his true form. He would have to develop some sort of system for when he would and wouldn't wear the glamour. As amusing as it would be to accidentally wander out on the streets looking like a puck, he doubted it would help matters very much. Of course, it hadn't exactly damaged Celty's reputation when her helmet had gotten knocked off while she was kicking the ass of Namie's thugs.

One thing at a time. For now, he needed to get used to being what he really was. To deal with the enhanced senses without getting overwhelmed by them. To learn how his just-slightly-longer limbs would affect him whether he was walking, sitting, or fighting. The last place he wanted to learn about that was once he was in an actual fight.

He sat down at his computer and encountered his first problem. The chair was too close to the monitor. It was also too low. Apparently his just-slightly-longer limbs were a little longer than he had realized. He started to adjust his chair, then stopped to think about it. If he adjusted it now, he would have to adjust it back if he were in his false form, and given how often Namie just hung around his office, that would probably be a great deal of the time. But there was no point in sitting in a chair that wasn't comfortable, and to be fair he also spent a lot of time in his office when Namie _wasn't_ there. What was the alternative? Two work stations? One human, one puck? That was just idiotic.

He wondered if there was a way to alter the glamour that had originally been placed on him so it matched better. Celty might know, but he had gotten enough information from one source for a while. He adjusted the chair, flipped on his monitor, and pulled up his web browser.

He became so deeply engrossed in what he was finding, in trying little bits of magic, that he almost forgot to call Ceallach. He found a description of sidhe, which reminded him, and flipped his cell phone open, dialing back the number.

"Yes?" the voice on the other end said.

"This is Orihara Izaya," he said.

A pause. Then: "Go ahead."

"I've considered your offer and, with all due respect, which in this case isn't much, I think you should go fuck yourself."

Another pause, this one longer. "That isn't wise."

"You know what? That doesn't scare me. I don't think you have any idea what you're doing." Izaya shut the phone with a snap, stood, and slid the glamour back on. He took Celty's head down from the shelf and put it away in a cardboard box. The safest place for it right now would be somewhere far away from him. It might wake if things got out of hand, but given the caliber of people he was dealing with, he was fairly sure that wasn't going to happen. If it did? Well, he still thought it was Celty's body that needed to be in the thick of things, not her head. He would wait and see what happened.

He was whistling as he hit the street, the bounce restored to his steps.

oOoOo 


	10. Chapter 9

_A/N: Wow, for once I... really have nothing to say in my author's notes._

Chapter Nine

Saki stood out on Shinra's balcony, looking over the city. It really was an excellent view. She made a mental note that a nice view was a requirement for the next place she lived. They were all still camped at Shinra's because the doctor didn't feel comfortable letting Masaomi go without medical supervision until the next day. Masaomi couldn't stand the idea of Mikado or herself out alone. She loved him dearly, but Masaomi had some very serious issues. Sometimes it simply wasn't wise to push him.

However, none of this meant she wanted an audience as she worked. She stepped away from the rail, pulled out her phone and dialed.

It rang twice before a coldly masculine voice picked up. "Yes?"

"I hear you're in need of information," Saki said, keeping her voice even.

"Who is this?"

"Mikajima Saki." She waited, knowing the name would most likely mean very little to him.

"And how did you get this number?"

Saki laughed. "I'm an information broker. Would anyone want to hire me if I couldn't even get their phone number?"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"No, it doesn't." She sighed. "I do have my sources."

"Fair enough," Ceallach said. "Might I inquire as to how exactly you heard I was in the market for an information broker?"

"Orihara Izaya and I know a few of the same people. It seems that he foolishly turned down a business opportunity."

"That may be true," Ceallach said, "but I doubt he told anybody about it."

Saki let out another quiet sigh. "He is not a man who feels the need to keep his opinions to himself."

Ceallach let out a snort of amusement at that. "I suppose that is probably true. Very well. Allow me some time to check your references, shall we say. I will need to see you in person. The information I need is too delicate to discuss over the telephone."

Saki cringed, thinking about the fit Masaomi would have at the idea of a face to face meeting. She knew this wouldn't work if she refused. "A meeting could be arranged."

"I'll call you back with the location," Ceallach said, and hung up without another word.

Saki pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it for a moment before closing it. "What an ass." She went inside.

Mikado looked up from where he was doing the assignments that Anri had brought home. Saki had to smile slightly at that. Mikado was always so diligent about his schoolwork no matter what else was going on; it walked the fine line between being amazing and being pathetic. At least he was a good influence on Masaomi. "How did it go?" he asked.

"He says he's going to 'check my references' and wants to meet in person. I agreed and he said he'd call back with a location." She threw herself onto the sofa with a bounce. "I'll insist on Russia Sushi though."

Mikado relaxed at the last sentence; for a few moments, he had started to panic. Saki was a lot better at dealing with this stuff than he was. "Will that work? I mean, will he let you insist?"

"I think so. I'll cite his bad track record for kidnappings. It'll prove I'm capable of hunting up info."

Anri spoke up timidly. "Won't that just make him angry?"

"Not if I use the right tone." She grinned. "I just don't feel safe going places alone with people I've never met before." Her tone changed just enough so that she sounded like a nervous young teen, instead of a perfectly capable older teen.

Mikado wasn't so sure that Ceallach was the kind of guy who was going to want to hire someone who sounded young and nervous, but then again, he figured Saki knew what she was doing. Besides, Ceallach had to be getting the idea at this point that teenagers in Ikebukuro were not always normal teenagers. He chewed on the end of his pencil, glanced at where Masaomi was blissfully snoozing on the sofa, oblivious to the entire argument, and devoted himself to his trigonometry homework.

Saki caught the doubtful look. "He seems to like to think he's in control. I just need to give him enough to think he's pandering to me but can still take me for all I'm worth."

"Okay," Mikado said. Turning slightly pink, he said, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous about the whole idea. I kind of wish Izaya-san hadn't mentioned it. And I'm still surprised he didn't just do it himself. He's the type who likes to deliver his revenge personally."

Saki smiled. "It's okay. You're new at living a life of crime." The teasing was obviously good natured. She pondered Mikado's last statement. "You know, I'm surprised too. He is that type."

"I mean, his logic was good, but . . ." Mikado shrugged and went to the next problem. "Maybe we'll find out later. Knowing him, he's probably plotting something else."

Saki's eyes cut over to Masaomi. "Which is all well and fine, as long as he watches his step around me." There was nothing hostile in her tone. Mikado merely nodded. He had been as surprised as Celty to learn that Saki still spoke to Izaya, and held no ill will for what had happened to her, but once he had thought about it, it made sense. Like Saki, he understood that Izaya hadn't meant it personally. Izaya seemed to like Saki, in his own way, sharing information and doing her little favors.

Before he could think of anything to say, Saki's phone rang. She looked at the number but flipped the phone open before another ring could wake Masaomi. Looking eager wouldn't hurt, as it would stroke Ceallach's ego. "Hello, Ceallach-san," she said, tone conveying respect and pleasure. Her eyes rolled in a dramatic fashion. Anri put a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.

"Are you available in an hour?" Ceallach said, without wasting any time on pleasantries.

"Yes, I am." Saki grinned at Anri.

"Excellent. Let me give you the location – "

"Um . . . Ceallach-san, I would really feel most comfortable meeting at a neutral location. Say Russia Sushi?" She put just a little bit of nervousness into her voice.

"I can assure you that you have nothing to fear," Ceallach said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "That is, as long as your information is accurate."

"Sir, my information is always as accurate as I can make it." She sounded a little defensive though she shook her head at the man. "And I've heard that sometimes bad things happen to people that go to meet you. I would really just feel better in a neutral public place. At least in the beginning."

"Bad things?" Ceallach laughed, a warm, rich noise. "That Izaya has been spreading tales, I see. Very well. We shall have the meeting at this . . . Russian's?"

"Russia Sushi, sir." She gave Mikado and Anri a thumbs up.

"I'll see you in an hour." Ceallach hung up.

Saki was again left staring at her phone.

"Someone should go with you," Mikado said.

"Is there anyone he won't recognize?" Saki asked.

"I could go," Anri offered.

"No, remember, they've seen us walking home together," Mikado pointed. He thought about it. "Maybe I could ask Kadota-san? He hangs around Russia Sushi a lot anyway, and I know he would keep an eye out for you."

"That would work." Saki thought Mikado was being a little paranoid, but it wouldn't hurt to indulge him. He would be easier to soothe than Masaomi. "And don't forget Simon. He won't let anything happen to me."

"That's true," Mikado said, brightening up. "I'll text Kadota-san," he added, fishing his new phone out of his pocket. "This thing is so shiny," he muttered to himself, typing away at the little keyboard. It took some time, given that he had to do it one-handed.

Saki chuckled. Mikado was adorable.

"Uhm, should we wake Masaomi-kun?" Anri asked, looking at the sleeping blonde somewhat apprehensively. "And tell him that you're going to be going out?"

Saki shook her head. "He's really out cold. Let him be. If we're lucky he'll sleep through it."

Mikado looked at Masaomi, then looked at Saki. "Okay, but if he gets mad, I'm blaming it on you."

Saki shrugged. "Sometimes he doesn't know what's good for him."

There was a pause. Mikado took a deep breath, one hand curling around the phone. "Understand that I'm not arguing with you or saying that you're wrong," he said, "because you're not. And Masaomi needs to stay here and if we wake him he'll try to insist on going. But also understand that you haven't met this guy. You don't know how frightening he is. If Masaomi hadn't come to get me, I would be in serious trouble right now, and Masaomi knows that. He won't be happy about this." His phone chirped, and he looked down at it, glad to be distracted. "Ah, Kadota-san says it's just about dinner time anyway. He'll keep an eye on you."

"I'll be careful. Between Kadota-san and Simon, I'll be okay. Simon hasn't always been a sushi chef, you know?"

"I know." Mikado tried for a smile. "I'm just pointing out the futility in trying to convince Masaomi that he shouldn't worry . . . or trying to convince me, for that matter."

"I know. I appreciate the concern." She gave a decisive nod and stood. "I have to get going."

"Okay," Mikado said, tucking the phone away. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will. And I'll call when the meeting is over." Saki smiled reassuringly at both of the other teenagers, went to get her shoes, and left the apartment. She checked her e-mail while she walked, already thinking about the best way to go about convincing Ceallach that she would be helpful, but was harmless. Until she knew what information he specifically wanted, there was no way to plan what false information she would give him.

As Kadota had said, it was the dinner hour, and Russia Sushi was as busy as it ever got - which was to say, not too crowded, but with a healthy murmur of background noise. Saki smiled at Simon, who greeted her with, "Ah, Saki! Long time no see! Be sure to get the shrimp today! It's fresh and cheap!"

Saki smiled and thanked him and went inside. Kadota was sitting at the bar with his usual posse; he glanced over and nodded at her when she came in but didn't approach her. She had a quiet word with the manager that she was going to be having a private meeting, and he let her have one of the smaller rooms in the back.

Ceallach was prompt; he showed up almost exactly an hour after their conversation. He was looking around at Russia Sushi as if wondering what alternate dimension he had stumbled into. As this was a fairly common reaction to Russia Sushi, Saki decided to let that go and stood up to greet him. She thought about bowing, but if she pushed the image of a good little girl too far, he wouldn't buy it. "Ceallach-san. Thank you for meeting me here."

His gaze traveled up and down as he took in her slight form and young face. Then he nodded, almost politely. "This Ikebukuro is an interesting place. High school students are not quite typical here, are they."

"Not all of us, no." She saw no reason to inform him that she had already graduated. It had been a long, boring year in the hospital.

Ceallach gestured for her to take a seat. "This city has a great confluence of unnatural energy."

Saki wondered what the hell that meant, as she folded her legs underneath herself and sat down at the small table. "Does it? I'll admit to not knowing a lot about that."

"Mm," Ceallach said, sitting across from her. "It's of no consequence." He looked up as a server brought in tea for them, then waved him off when he asked if they planned to order. "Several of your references speak highly of you, at least. However, I will warn you that my purpose here is very serious. I've noted that you have good reason to be at odds with Orihara. I won't be used in any attempt you might plan to make to get back at him."

Saki shrugged and sipped her tea. "You've already hurt him once; having a business deal with his enemy is revenge enough."

"Excellent," Ceallach said. "To business, then. I need information on some people. As detailed as possible." He took a piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it over. It was a list of over two dozen people. Some of the names were easily recognized - Izaya, Shizuo, and Celty were all on there, as were Masaomi and Saika - but some of them she didn't know.

Saki tapped a finger on the list as she considered it. It wasn't what she had expected at all. If he was looking for a thing, why did he want information on people? And why these people? "This is doable." She nodded once. "With new clients I usually ask for an advance, say a third of my fee up front." Her tone was still polite but gave the impression that although it was phrased as a suggestion, it wasn't one at all.

"Very well. But in return I expect some information before we leave this place."

"Some of these people I will have to research. Some I'll have to research if you want anything truly of interest. But I'll share what I know about whichever you like. I can provide you with a routing number to my bank account if you would like to handle payment before we leave." She was interested to see just how much of a luddite this man was.

"I tend to deal in cash," Ceallach said. "It's easier to avoid misunderstandings that way."

"Cash works well for me." Saki picked up the list. "It can be delivered here within the next twenty-four hours."

Ceallach nodded and said briskly, "Agreed. What information can you give me now?"

"Who do you want me to start with?"

Ceallach studied the list where it lay on the table. His fingers tapped several times and then came down, decisively, on Masaomi's name. "Him."

Saki didn't much like that. Celty was right; the man was incredibly angry over Masaomi ruining his plans and laying waste to his men. "High school student, leader and creator of the Yellow Scarves. He started the gang when he was in middle school, loves to hit on women, older women. He's extremely bad at it. Has little to no contact with his family." She decided to pause then. She didn't think any of that was particularly useful, but it was truthful, so Ceallach could verify that her information was good. She had thrown in the bit about his family as a sort of misdirection. It was true that he was very distant from his family, but she didn't think he would appreciate them being used as hostages against him. Better to make them seem like a dead end now.

"He's an adept fighter," Ceallach said.

"He's a teen gang leader. He would have to fight and win if he didn't want to be displaced."

"Is his gang still active?"

"Yes. And it's rumored that he checks out each new member himself."

Ceallach considered all this for a few moments, his fingers tapping away at the table. "What's his connection to the Dollars?"

Saki sat back and sipped her tea, glad that Simon had not made her order anything. This man was subtly disturbing. Deadly somehow. She didn't like him and even had he not already badly hurt three of the people she was closest to, she still wouldn't have liked him. "It's rumored that he is a Dollar. Of course, no one really seems to know for sure, because that's not how the Dollars work. However, the Yellow Scarves are independent of the Dollars. It's a known fact that he attends the same high school as the founder of the Dollars and it's rumored that they're friendly with each other. Any more than that, and I'll have to do some real digging."

Ceallach nodded. "Then see that you do. Anything else you can tell me?"

"Nothing of interest comes to mind."

"Any information that you can also give me about the Dollars will be useful." Ceallach was quite still, except for that tapping finger. "They have defied me, and they will pay for it." His voice was normal, as if he were merely ordering his dinner. "If you can give me information that leads to the capture of their founder, I will throw in a substantial bonus."

"I'll keep that in mind." Saki curled her toes hard under the table, intent on not shuddering. This man wanted her boyfriend and her boyfriend's boyfriend dead. More than that, he wanted to hurt them first.

"Excellent." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, tossing it onto the table. "Will that suffice as your advance?"

Saki picked it up and thumbed through the bills. "Yes, very much so." She smiled. "It will be a pleasure doing business with you."

"How quickly can you get me this information?"

"Difficult to say. I'm sure I can have something of value for you in a couple of days. Some things may take longer."

"I'll meet you back here in forty-eight hours." Though Ceallach didn't bother to offer a threat, it was clear that he thought she should have enough information to have earned her payment by then.

Saki gave a nod, conceding.

Ceallach stood, gave her a polite nod, and left the small room, leaving the restaurant as abruptly as he had come.

Saki sagged in her seat. A few moments later, Simon poked his head into the alcove. "Is everything all right?" he asked, his usual smile on his face as he refilled her tea, paying no mind to the envelope full of money that was still sitting there.

She shook her head. "No. Not at all." She reached for the tea.

Simon did not ask for details, his dark gaze studying the door through which Ceallach had left. "He's a bad person," he said. "He won't be welcome here again if he's going to scare the customers."

"I know. That's why I refused to meet him anywhere else. I'm safe here." She paused and looked up at Simon. Very quietly, she said, "That's the man that hurt Izaya-san."

"Ahhh," Simon said. "Then I will not worry, as he will not be troubling us for very long, yes?" He smiled at her. "You may continue to meet him here."

Saki smiled. "Thank you." She gathered up the envelope. "He's after Masaomi and Mikado." She knew she didn't need to ask Simon to watch out for them when he could because she knew Simon would anyway. He just had to know what to watch for.

"Mm. Celty had texted something of the sort." Simon watched her gather the money. "Leaving so soon? You haven't eaten yet."

"I wouldn't mind bringing some with me. But Masaomi was asleep when I left. It won't last forever." The epic fit that would happen was a given for anyone that knew Masaomi at all.

"Ahhh, of course, of course," Simon said. "Wait right here. I'll wrap up some plates for you." He winked at her. "Perhaps sushi will ease the pain that you held this meeting without him, yes?"

Saki grinned. "Yes. Definitely." It would be proof that she was somewhere safe. If all else failed, she could shove sushi into his open mouth as he ranted.

Simon chuckled and left the room. A few minutes later, Kadota came in with several boxes of sushi, already packed and tied closed with twine. He nodded hello and said, "We'll drive you home. Or back to Shinra's."

Saki pulled money from the envelope and left it on the table to cover the food. "Thanks. I appreciate that. That man is very bad news."

Kadota nodded agreement but said nothing about his opinion, in his usual reserved way. Karisawa and Yumasaki immediately began bickering about what manga villain Ceallach was most like, and they chattered most of the way back to Shinra's. Togusa pulled the van over and Kadota waved casually as Saki got out. "See you later," he said.

"Thanks again." She waved and headed inside.

oOoOo

Masaomi woke up curled around and hugging a throw pillow. He rubbed an eye with his fist and then looked around. It was early evening, according to a look out the window. He saw Mikado's back as he typed away at Shinra's computer. Anri was curled up in one of the living room chairs, reading. Neither Shinra nor Celty were around, though that didn't surprise him. He didn't see Saki, either. That did surprise him. He wondered if she was showering or something, and sat up carefully with a yawn.

"What time is it? Is there dinner?" he asked, leaning back into the sofa cushions, comfortably sleepy.

"What? Oh, you're up." Mikado spun around in his chair. Anri looked over as well, giving Masaomi a somewhat worried smile. "I hadn't thought about dinner yet. I guess it's about that time, huh?" He realized he was doing that babbling thing he did when he got nervous. The problem was, whenever he realized that, for some reason he tried to fix it with more babbling. "I hadn't realized, I was looking around at the forums. Shinra-sensei had a job to go to and Celty-san went to talk to Shizuo. I wonder if they would mind if I used their kitchen."

Masaomi gave him a funny look. "You're babbling."

Mikado rubbed his hand over the back of his head. "Yeah," he said, and made himself shut up.

"Why?" Masaomi was starting to get a bad feeling. "Did something bad happen while I as asleep?"

"No," Mikado said, firmly. "Nothing bad happened. Saki went out to do her information brokering thing, but," he spoke more hastily here before Masaomi could blow his stack, "she was only going to Russia Sushi and Kadota-san said he would stop by and keep an eye on her."

"What?" It came out as a squawk.

"She seemed very confident," Anri said, backing Mikado up. "I'm sure she's fine."

"And she should be back soon," Mikado added.

"But. . ." Masaomi couldn't quite articulate what he wanted to say and found himself on his feet. "She hasn't called? If she hasn't called how do you know - "

"She wouldn't call because she's in character," Mikado said, getting up and walking over to Masaomi. He got an arm around the other teenager's waist before he could do anything stupid like try to find his shoes or leave the apartment. "She's probably busy. But I know she's fine because Simon and Kadota-san would never let anything happen to her."

Leaving the apartment was exactly what Masaomi was planning to do, though he didn't attempt to shake Mikado off. "What if he makes her leave? What if he doesn't believe her?"

"Kadota-san and Simon aren't going to just let him walk off with her," Mikado pointed out. He sat down on the sofa, trying to pull Masaomi down next to him.

Masaomi went, but was clearly still agitated. Since he wasn't able to pace or flail, his hands fisted in the hem of his sweatshirt. "I don't like this. It isn't safe. Last time she got involved with . . . I . . . " He took a deep breath. "I don't like it."

"I don't like it either," Mikado said. Anri came over and sat down on the other side of Masaomi, taking his hand in hers after loosening it from the fabric of his shirt, offering silent support. "But I talked to her. She promised that she would be very careful. She just went there to talk, and there are people watching out for her." He hesitated, then added, "She wanted to help, and neither of us has the right to tell her that she can't."

Masaomi wilted, almost folding in on himself. "I don't want her getting hurt again."

"I know," Mikado said, and fell silent. There was nothing else he could say.

"How long has she been gone?"

Mikado glanced at his watch. He had been so nervous that he had thrown himself into the internet, trying to distract himself with the varying conversations on the forums. It wasn't that anyone had had anything particularly remarkable to say (though reading through the logs of discussion after his abduction had been interesting), but it had at least kept him from brooding.

Before Masaomi could realize that Mikado didn't actually know, Anri jumped in. "A little over an hour. She was meeting Ceallach at six thirty, so it may be a little while longer before she's back."

Masaomi squeezed her hand for a second. "I'm being stupid, aren't I." He gave a laugh, but it wasn't a happy sound.

"No, of course not," Anri said, looking at him seriously. "You're being worried, because you love Saki-san so much." A faint blush colored her cheeks. "She would worry about you, if you were the one who was gone. So would Mikado-kun and I. And we're worried about Saki-san, too. But you have to remember that you're injured, and take it easy on yourself. Okay?"

"She left while I was asleep on purpose, didn't she."

"Not really," Mikado said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, she knew you wouldn't like the idea of her going, but mostly we just wanted to let you rest. You were hurt pretty badly, and we . . . we've all been worried about you."

This made Masaomi blink at him. "I'm not hurt any worse than you. At least I can still move everything."

"You are absolutely hurt worse than me," Mikado said firmly. "You were stabbed. You had to get an IV and a pint of blood and stitches and narcotics and everything. All I got was some aspirin and a sling."

"I what?" There was blinking and obvious confusion.

Mikado blinked back. "Which – which part of that do you not remember?"

"Um . . . the IV and a pint of blood?"

"Yeah, that was, uh, that was right around the same time the aforementioned narcotics came into play, so it's probably not too surprising that your memory gets fuzzy," Mikado said, with a weak laugh.

"Sorry?" He was. It was obvious that he had freaked Mikado out a little.

"It's okay," Mikado said. "Just, next time you get stabbed, make sure you tell somebody right away."

Anri let out a little giggle. "Next time? Mikado-kun . . ."

"Ah, well, hopefully there won't ever be a next time," Mikado said hastily, "but this is Masaomi, so, y'know . . . he's kinda reckless . . ."

"Hey!" Masaomi protested. The others just looked at him. He wilted. "I wouldn't say reckless, just . . . oh, all right."

Before either Anri or Mikado could make any sort of comment, the apartment door opened. A moment later, Saki appeared, carrying the sushi boxes. Mikado got to his feet and said, "Ah, let me help you with those," completely forgetting that one arm was in a sling in his efforts to keep Masaomi from doing anything as strenuous as walking the four steps over to where Saki was now standing.

Masaomi bounced up regardless, though he was kept from bolting over to her because he was still holding Anri's hand. "Saki." The worry was clear in his voice.

"Alive, breathing, unharmed." She moved towards them.

Anri let go of Masaomi's hand and tactfully stepped out of the way, helping Mikado take the sushi boxes and setting them down on the table. Masaomi wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Saki. She hugged back, being careful of his injuries. Mikado devoted himself to looking around Shinra's kitchen for plates, chopsticks, and drinks, while Anri brought in an extra chair from the living room.

"You worry too much," Saki said into Masaomi's hair as he laid his head on her shoulder.

"I know. I can't help it. "

"Look, you idiot, you can't spend all of your time looking after me. Sometimes you have to let me look after you. Now let's sit down so we can have dinner."

"How did the meeting go?" Anri asked.

Saki and Masaomi both sat down and then Saki took out the envelope of money and tossed it onto the table. "Not too bad, but he's . . ." She paused, looking for the right word, and then simply went with, "scary."

Mikado opened his mouth, then shut it, picking up a piece of sushi and eating it before he could be tempted to say something.

Saki caught that and rolled her eyes. "Yes, you told me so."

"Maybe a little," Mikado said, holding up his hand with his thumb and index finger about an inch apart, to demonstrate how little.

Saki flicked rice at him and then pulled out the list. "This is who he wants to know about."

"Who?" Mikado and Anri asked in unison. Mikado followed it up with, "Not where or what?"

"Who. Very definitely who. Starting with Masaomi."

"I guess he's pissed?" Masaomi asked.

Saki snorted. "He wants you dead. But first I think he wants to hurt you."

"Wow, that's super comforting," Mikado said, putting down his chopsticks and looking vaguely queasy.

"Who else?" Masaomi asked as he picked up the list. He paled when he saw 'Saika' on the list. Anri and Mikado both crowded over his shoulder to look, their meal forgotten.

"This doesn't make any sense," Mikado said, frowning. He recognized some of the names – the obvious ones, of course, as well as a few more he thought he had seen in the papers or on the internet. "If he's looking for something specific, why does he need information on people? I don't get it."

"And why these people? Me he's pissed at, and Celty too, but. . ."

Saki shrugged. "He didn't tell me why."

"Ugh," Mikado said, sitting back down and looking at his food. "If we can't figure out why he needs information on people instead of anything else, we won't know what to have you tell him. And I don't even know who some of these people are. What's our timeframe?"

"Forty-eight hours," Saki said glumly.

"That doesn't give us a lot of time," Mikado said. His eyes lit up suddenly. "The protectors. That's what he's looking for."

"What?" Anri asked.

"When Ceallach was telling me about what he was for, he told me that after the Mask was hidden here, it had been appointed two protectors," Mikado explained. "That was back when I was trying to make him think I might help, to get some information. He . . ." His forehead wrinkled. "He said something else about them, but I'm . . . I don't really remember what it was. That wasn't long before he started, uh . . . a lot happened after that. But there were definitely two protectors. So they would have to know where it was, right? If they're going to protect it."

"True," Saki said. "So at least we know who it isn't. Not that we want to tell him that."

"Well, if we can figure out who it is, we'll know who to give him false information on," Anri said.

Saki nodded. But Masaomi spoke up. "Do we want him having real info on anyone?"

"Oh," Anri said, her cheeks turning pink. "No, I guess not."

Masaomi waved a hand at her. He hadn't meant to embarrass her. "It's just, he'll wanna know about everyone. And . . . " He shrugged. "Saika is you. Sort of. And I don't want him knowing that."

Mikado nodded. "Well, hopefully Celty-san will be back soon and we can let her go. She probably knows more of these people than we do."

Saki gave a nod. "And she can tell me what she wants me to tell Ceallach about her."

oOoOo 


	11. Chapter 10

_A/N: Hee. I really like this chapter. Everyone is in fine form. XD_

Chapter Ten

By the time Izaya was heading back towards his office, his good mood had faded somewhat. He attributed this mostly to the fact that the painkillers were wearing off. He never planned to admit that to anyone, but he had done a lot of walking on his ankle that day, and a lot of typing with a broken hand. Shinra was probably right, he mused, and taking the splint off had been a terrible idea. But typing with the splint on had irritated him too much.

Celty's head was now tucked away in a safety deposit box in a high-security bank. It was safer there than anywhere else he could think of, and he could retrieve it at any time. Izaya was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, in addition to being sore and hungry. He decided to go home, order some takeout, and take a hot bath.

So when he found himself knocked on his ass by a trash can, he was not amused. What was worse was the way he automatically put his hand out to catch himself as he fell. His broken hand – still unsplinted, as he had never bothered to put it back on – collided hard with the pavement and immediately sent shockwaves of pain all the way up his arm. Izaya found himself unable to do anything for a few long moments other than lie on the ground, grit his teeth, and hope vaguely that he wasn't in the road.

Shizuo followed not long after the trash can and looked down at Izaya. His head tilted like he didn't quite understand what he was seeing. "Huh."

"Rub it in," Izaya said, fighting the urge to curl into fetal position and whimper. "Just stand there and gawk."

Shizuo started to take a step back at the lack of normal cavalier attitude, but then he growled and stood his ground. "I didn't expect you to actually be damaged." He was having trouble remembering the last time he had ever managed to really hurt Izaya. This wasn't how things were supposed to work. Celty had told him that Izaya had been hurt, but it hadn't really sunk in. Izaya didn't get hurt, at least not in any way that he couldn't just shake off.

After several deep breaths, Izaya managed to put away the pain and get back to his feet. At least his ankle was okay. "Well, you're not the one who damaged me," he said, with a light shrug. "So don't think about it for another moment."

Shizuo looked him up and down again. "Where's your jacket?" He looked wrong without it.

"Why's everyone keep asking me about the damned jacket?" Izaya asked, though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to keep Shizuo calm and talking for a few moments while he caught his breath. As soon as he thought he could run without having to stop and puke from the pain, he was out of here. Hopefully that would be before Shizuo realized they were standing near a small park with all sorts of things he could uproot and throw.

Shizuo's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you?" This wasn't how things should work. Izaya was supposed to taunt and run. Shizuo was supposed to throw things and chase. He was supposed to be about burn off some of his aggression on him.

"Why, Shizu-chan," Izaya said, "is that concern I detect in your voice? That's sweet, but you don't need to worry about me."

Shizuo made another disgruntled noise and his hand closed around a nearby pole. "Don't call me that."

Izaya was starting to feel better about everything. Even the throbbing pain in his hand was fading a little. "What're you going to do to me if I do, Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo yanked the poll free from its mooring, figuring that would be answer enough.

"Oh, scary!" Izaya said, laughing. "I thought you wouldn't fight me when I'm damaged."

"If you don't want to fight then you should run. I'm not in the mood."

"You're not in the mood for a chat?" Izaya asked. "Be still my heart! I'm shocked to hear such a thing from you, Shizu-chan." He wasn't surprised when Shizuo responded to this comment by swinging the pole. He jumped backwards and landed on a nearby railing. "Because your life is so hard," he added, rolling his eyes. "In the past week I've been abducted, beaten, starved, drugged and insulted by Shinra, pitied by teenagers, and to top it all off, I get to find out that I'm some sort of faerie or something. It's been a great week for me. Better watch it, Shizu-chan – I might actually get serious for once."

Shizuo stopped mid-swing as the last half of Izaya's tirade hit him. "What?"

"What, what?" Izaya replied, still balancing on top of the rail.

"That's what I asked you," Shizuo said, wondering if Izaya had been hit on the head.

"Obviously," Izaya said, with another roll of his eyes. "I'm just wondering which part of that actually surprised you."

"The faerie part." He planted the end of his pole on the sidewalk.

Izaya looked at the pole. He looked at Shizuo. "It's funny, but I could swear you just stopped trying to kill me in favor of having a civil conversation."

"I'm not finding much funny today." Shizuo glared. "Faerie, huh?"

"You have no sense of humor even on the best of days," Izaya said. He resisted the urge to suggest they go out for tea or sushi or something. If he pushed Shizuo too hard, he really would wind up in a fight, and he was curious about why Shizuo was perseverating on this. "I'd think you wouldn't be surprised to find out I'm not human. If I come down from here, will you try to kick my ass? Because I'd like to sit down. Damaged, remember?"

Shizuo gave up on working off his anger. "Fine, sit." He considered. "Celty told me the same thing."

Izaya hopped down off the railing and sat down on a bench with more of a thud than he really wanted. "What, that you have no sense of humor? Hardly surprising if hers is warped, after all those years with Shinra . . ."

"Not that, you idiot. That I'm not human." This clearly pissed Shizuo off.

Izaya's face went blank. The pieces started to line up in his brain. The thugs calling Shizuo a troll. The way they retreated after one punch. Shizuo's incredible strength and remarkable ability to bounce back from injury. Celty's description of changelings. His mouth worked for a few moments. What came out was: "Oh."

Shizuo gave him an incredulous look. He waited for Izaya to say something else. When nothing else was forthcoming, he asked, "Did I break you?"

"You may have broken my hand," Izaya said, calmly deflecting the real question.

Shizuo pondered this. "Shinra is going to yell at me." He considered again. "That isn't what I meant. And you said I hadn't damaged you, so don't try and blame it on me now."

Izaya sighed, closing his eyes against the pain. "I think I preferred it when you were trying to beat me with the swingset you uprooted."

Shizuo was a bit discomfited to realize that he was actually concerned. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Granted, he certainly still disliked the trouble-making weasel, but that was right. That was how it was supposed to be. Shizuo liked things in his life to follow a pattern. He wasn't a fan of surprises. He wanted things to go back to normal and that meant getting Izaya fixed up. "Let's go see Shinra before he refuses to speak to me for a month."

Izaya opened one eye and gave him a suspicious glance.

"What?" Shizuo glared.

"Five days ago," Izaya said, "I woke up and everything was normal. I brushed my teeth and put on my favorite jacket and went out to find some innocent bystanders to torment. Then I got this stupid little card in the mail. Now I'm a puck and you're a troll, my hand hurts like you don't even fucking know, and you're voluntarily being civil to me and trying to help me. I'm not sure exactly when things went so badly off the rails, but if this is a nightmare, I'd really like to wake the fuck up. You?"

Shizuo gave a disgruntled sigh and leaned back against the near by building and lit a cigarette. "Three days ago I find out there's a new gang in town and they've caught the one man who always seems to eel out of trouble. They pick a fight with me and then run in terror without cause, because I haven't even gotten going. Then I find out I'm actually not human, which has always worried me a bit. You may think it's fun to provoke me, but this has never been easy to live with. I'm not even related to my family and someone might have stolen their reasonable, normal son, who wouldn't have shamed them." He sucked the cigarette down in record time, put it out against the bottom of his shoe and tucked the filter into an envelope. Then he lit another. "And now you aren't acting right. It's throwing me off further and I don't like it. It seemed reasonable to get you fixed up so life can go back to normal."

Izaya studied him for a few long minutes, then gave a lazy shrug and a nod. "Okay." He stood up, gingerly cradling his arm against his chest. "To Shinra's we go."

Shizuo nodded and stepped away from the building and started to head towards Shinra's, his pace slightly slower than normal to account for Izaya's shorter legs and slight, almost unnoticeable limp. "Celty figure you out?"

"Yeah." Izaya held up one of his wrists to display. He glanced behind them to see several passersby stop and gawk to see two of Ikebukuro's most famed enemies having a civil chat as they walked down the street. "She warn you about iron?"

Shizuo looked where Izaya was looking, and then glared. Everyone watching suddenly found their shoes or the sky fascinating. Then he shifted to look at the displayed wrist. "She did. She says I seem to be partially immune, though."

"I bet," Izaya said, amused despite himself. "I suppose it's not so bad in the long run."

Shizuo tucked one hand in his pocket, the other holding his cigarette. "Celty was happy."

"At least somebody is," Izaya replied.

"You're not?"

Izaya gave another shrug and then looked back at the crowds that were surreptitiously following them. He saw someone take a picture with their phone, and arched his eyebrows at them. Said person disappeared into the mass of people. "I suppose with time I probably will be."

"I thought you'd be happy about having an advantage." Shizuo paused long enough to put his cigarette.

"I like challenges better than advantages," Izaya said, with more honesty than he would have expected from himself.

Shizuo nodded. The conversation wasn't so bad now that he had just resigned himself to the oddity of the situation. "I'm not sure much around here will change, really. This is a strange city."

"Oh, really?" Izaya asked, amused. "When did you notice?"

Shizuo's eye twitched, but he said nothing.

Seeing the glint of murder in Shizuo's eye, feeling the twinge in his ankle and the throb in his hand, Izaya declared, "Screw it. Let's get a taxi."

Shizuo nodded and stepped to the curb. Less than two minutes later they were on their way. Izaya had considered calling to say they were coming, but decided it would be more fun to catch Celty off guard. Certainly seeing the two of them show up together, both of them relatively unmauled, was probably going to give everyone inside an aneurysm. That made Izaya feel a little better about things, and some of the bounce returned to his step as they took the elevator up. Shizuo eyed him, not sure he wanted to be trapped in an elevator with a suddenly cheerful Izaya. It seemed like a dangerous place to be.

"Shall we?" Izaya asked, with a smirk, as he exited the elevator and knocked on Shinra's door without waiting for a reply.

"Coming!" Shinra called from inside. He pulled the door open, blinked at them, and announced in a voice that was far too loud to be necessary, "Orihara-kun, Shizuo-kun! What a surprise!"

There was a clatter as though something inside the apartment had been dropped, and then Saki called out, "Celty-san, are you all right?"

Shizuo, as usual, didn't bother with formalities. "I think I broke Izaya-kun."

"You . . . broke . . .?" Shinra asked.

Izaya held up his hand and said, matter-of-factly, "I landed on it when he knocked me over with a trash can."

"I see, I see." Shinra stood back to let them in and closed the door after them. "Funny thing, I seem to remember telling you very specifically that you were not to fight Shizuo-kun while you were in this condition."

"I stopped as soon as I knew he was already damaged," Shizuo said in a defensive tone.

"It's true," Izaya said lazily. "And I only taunted him a little."

Shinra's eyes narrowed. "Where's the splint?"

"I took it off," Izaya said, in a 'well duh' tone of voice.

Celty peeked around the corner, only the top of her neck and the wispy shadows visible. Then she disappeared again. Meanwhile, Masaomi was a little slack-jawed in his seat on the sofa. Shizuo and Izaya, but no blood or mayhem. He wondered if the world was ending. A quick look at the other teenagers revealed that they were just as surprised.

With another annoyed look, Shinra grabbed Izaya by the hand and prodded at it. Izaya made an altogether undignified noise between grit teeth. "I'm going to have to set one of these again," Shinra said. "What were you thinking?"

"It made it hard to type."

"That's ridiculous; Mikado-kun has been typing all day with his arm in a sling – "

Mikado sank into the sofa, hoping desperately to go unnoticed.

"Just fix it, okay?" Izaya asked. "If Shizu-chan is civil to me much longer, I might go crazy."

Shizuo snorted, thinking that it would be a short trip.

"Laugh it up," Izaya said, as his temper slipped a little further. "When I'm feeling better I'm going to kick your ass all the way to Okinawa. We'll see exactly how much immunity you've got to steel."

"More than you." It came out in a challenging growl. Masaomi ducked, pulling the others down with him in case something came flying in their direction.

Izaya laughed. "Like you'd ever manage to get that close."

Shizuo's jaw tightened and his hand came up in a fist to prove just how close he could get.

"Cut it out!" Shinra dug his thumb into Izaya's injured hand, provoking another wounded noise from the other man. "Geez! You two are worse than children. And Orihara-kun, if you're in enough pain that you're going to let _me_ get the better of you, you're _definitely_ in no position to be picking fights with Shizuo-kun!"

The hurt noise startled Shizuo into backing down. It only reinforced how off things were at the moment.

"Okay, you know what?" Izaya asked, and dropped the glamour. Shedding the human skin brought the usual changes, and the pain in his hand immediately lessened. It helped him think a little more clearly as he held the offending limb against his chest. He was peripherally aware of the four teenagers in the living room staring at him in shock. "Now just set the bones, will you?"

There was a long silence. Then Shinra said, all in a rush, "Will you let me dissect you a bit in return?"

"No!"

"Just fix him," Shizuo said.

Saki recovered first. "You have pointed ears!" She sounded entirely too pleased by this.

"Your powers of observation continue to serve you well, my fine protégé," Izaya said. He looked expectantly at Shinra, who sighed, dramatically, and then waved for Izaya to follow him back to the treatment room.

This left Shizuo standing rather awkwardly, not sure what to do with himself. The four teenagers looked at each other. Anri stood, gave a slight bow, and said, "It's nice to see you again, Heiwajima-san."

Shizuo turned his gaze on he girl. Nice to see him again. That meant he should know her. His head tilted as he tried to puzzle this out. She looked a little familiar. For some reason he thought of rabbits. "Do I know you?"

"Ah, well, you've saved my life twice . . ." Anri said, and her voice trailed off. She didn't bother to mention that they had met at least once more after that as well.

"Ah." A pause. "Then it's nice to see you again."

"Would you like some tea?" Saki asked, trying not to smile at Shizuo's terrible memory.

"Yes, please." He came over and folded himself down onto the sofa. He gave a nod to Masaomi and Mikado.

"Nice to see you again," Mikado said. He was still somewhat nervous around Shizuo, despite his understanding that Shizuo was really only dangerous when provoked, and was actually a pretty nice guy underneath it all. "Uh, so, are you getting along with Izaya-san better?" he added, somewhat hopefully, as Saki retrieved another tea mug and set it down in front of Shizuo.

Shizuo gave a nod of thanks and picked it up. "No. But he's injured so I can't bring myself to kill him right now."

"Oh," Mikado said. "I see." He looked at the others, unable to think of anything else he could possibly say in reply to that.

Shizuo raised his mug to his lips and looked over the teens, taking note of Mikado's obvious injuries and the unusually stiff way Masaomi was moving. "Are you two all right?"

Mikado opened his mouth to ask Shizuo if he had seen _any_ of the texts during the brief time that he had been missing, but then thought better of it. "We're fine. Just a little roughed up, is all. I think tomorrow everything will be back to normal." He frowned slightly, then said, "Which means I have to go back to school."

Masaomi thought about arguing over going back to school. Ceallach clearly knew where to find them, as evidenced by the invitation he had found in his locker. It simply wasn't safe. If it was just himself, he would cheerfully walk back into Raira and let things fall where they would. If trouble came, he would face it. But it wasn't just him. He would play fast and loose with his own life, but not Mikado's or Anri's. So he wanted to argue, to flail, protest, dig his heels in and any number of other things to make his displeasure known. But he didn't, because Mikado had a stubborn streak a kilometer wide, and he might as well just save his breath. He slumped back into the sofa cushions.

"You go to Raira, right?" Shizuo took another sip from his mug and wondered where Celty was.

"Yes," Mikado said, giving Masaomi a sideways glance, clearly wondering if the other teenager was feeling ill.

Masaomi eyed him right back.

Shizuo, who was not as oblivious as a lot of people thought he was, only said, "Hn."

Nobody seemed to know what to say after that.

Saki clanked her mug down. "Men."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mikado asked, somewhat nervously. When Saki got that look on her face, someone was in trouble. It was usually Masaomi, but sometimes it was him. Or it could be both of them. The possibilities were endless.

"It means that instead of talking to each other you're just going to _stare_ at each other. Idiots."

"Hey!" Masaomi protested.

Mikado set down his mug of tea, feeling somewhat miffed. "We don't need to talk to each other. We both know what the other is thinking. He doesn't want me going back to school but he knows that he can't stop me and that it wouldn't be fair to stop me. I don't want to hurt his feelings but school is important to me and I refuse to hide here forever and let Ceallach drive me away from the things I love or need to do. Talking about it would just rile Masaomi up and end with both of us feeling bad. I thought just looking at each other was a good alternative."

Saki considered this. Then she looked at Anri. "They are so married."

Shizuo decided to continue to stay out of it.

Mikado grumbled something unintelligible as Anri giggled, and suddenly became very invested in checking his text messages.

There was a long pause before Masaomi suddenly busted out with, "So which one of us is the bride?"

Mikado's cheeks flushed bright pink, and he said, "Anyone who answers that is going to get it; I don't even care which answer they give!" He remembered belatedly whose company he was in and diverted his gaze from Shizuo, who thankfully did not look as though he were about to offer an opinion. Shizuo was, in fact, very quietly trying not to laugh, or as close as he ever came. He remembered how fragile the teenaged ego was.

Fortunately, before the argument could continue, Shinra came back out of the spare room with Izaya on his heels. He looked smug. Izaya looked irritated. His hand was splinted, and then on top of that was wrapped in what looked like several yards of bandages, covered by a layer of masking tape on which Shinra had scrawled 'DO NOT REMOVE' in hot pink marker.

Masaomi bit his lip hard. He figured Izaya might just murder him if he laughed. Saki was much braver. There was a giggle behind her mug. Then a wide grin. "I'm sorry."

"You are not sorry one little bit," Izaya said, "and if Shinra hadn't given me painkillers, I might actually give a damn."

Saki just laughed again and then patted the seat beside her. "Come sit down then."

"Sure," Izaya said. He went over and flopped down next to her, draping an almost proprietary arm around her shoulders, then propped his boots up on the arm of Shizuo's chair. In doing so he managed to irritate every single person in the room for a variety of reasons, with a minimum of effort. Izaya reflected to himself that he really was a genius, then wondered vaguely what the hell Shinra had given him. His inner monologue wasn't normally so . . . bubbly.

Shizuo looked at Izaya's feet like he was considering taking them off at the ankles.

Masaomi looked at the arm around Saki like he was considering taking Izaya's head off at the shoulders.

Saki, meanwhile, considered Izaya for a long moment. "You're high, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah," Izaya said. "Big time. Like I would have let him mummify my arm if I wasn't. So therefore I'm medically excused for anything I do or say for the next however long. Right, sensei?"

"Right," Shinra said, beaming.

Saki shook her head a little, entirely amused. "Just don't push your luck too badly."

Shizuo pushed Izaya's feet off the chair and then turned to Shinra. "Where's Celty?"

"Yeah," Izaya drawled. "Where is Celty? She's hiding, right?"

There was another startled rattle from the kitchen and then silence.

Shinra laughed. "C'mon, Celty! Orihara-kun is too drugged to do anything to you and Shizuo-kun is too nice. The longer you hide, the harder it'll be!"

Celty edged out of the kitchen and stood awkwardly for a moment. Then the PDA came up. 'I have to go.' She tried to eel around Shinra. He grabbed her by the elbow and kept her from going anywhere, still with the same cheerful smile on his face. Celty wilted.

"What?" Masaomi asked curiously.

"Lemme guess," Izaya said, propping his feet back up. Shizuo immediately batted them back down. "You figured out we were both fae right around the same time and managed to tell each of us but didn't know how to tell us about each other."

'I didn't know what to do!' The PDA was held out.

"Well, it wasn't like it was exactly any of their business," Shinra pointed out, folding his arms across his chest. "It probably would have come out eventually, but I figured we would wait until you had had a little time to let it settle."

Mikado opened his mouth, shut it, then hesitantly asked, "Not that it's any of our business either, but . . . what?"

Celty laid a hand on Shizuo's shoulder. He shrugged. 'Shizuo is a fae too.' She showed the message to Mikado.

"And . . . there are different types? Because . . . Izaya-san's ears are pointed, and . . ." Mikado felt like he was at something of a loss.

"I," Izaya declared grandly, "am a puck. And don't worry, I'm still getting used to it, too." Since putting his feet on the arm of Shizuo's chair wasn't doing him any good, he deposited them into the blonde's lap.

"Do you want to die?" Saki asked.

Shizuo growled and batted his feet away again.

"Whatever you gave him, I don't think you should give it to him ever again," Mikado said to Shinra.

'I agree.' Celty told Shinra and then turned back to Mikado. 'There are different types. Many, many different types.'

"For example," Izaya said, putting his feet back in Shizuo's lap. "I am nothing like Shizu-chan. At all. For which we are probably both very glad."

Shizuo calmly wrapped a hand around each of Izaya's ankles and squeezed. Just a bit. Enough to make a point, but not injure. "If you put your feet in my lap again I'll break them. Shinra's _right here_ to fix you afterwards." Izaya's feet were deposited on the floor.

"You know something, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked calmly. "You have no sense of humor." But his feet stayed where Shizuo had put them.

"I do. I just don't think you're funny."

"Anyway," Shinra said, interrupting them, "Celty, why don't you let me explain things to the kids? It would take too long to type it all out, right?" She gave him a thumbs up, and Shinra turned to the four teenagers. "Okay," he said, "settle in. This may take a while."

oOoOo

Kadota wasn't sure exactly when he had decided to take up a career in laying tile. He found it relaxing. It paid well enough, though money wasn't something he really cared a lot about. He often wondered where Yumasaki and Karisawa got enough cash to support their manga habit, but whenever that thought crossed his mind, he quickly banished it. No matter the answer, he was sure he didn't want to know.

Sometimes they even bought a decent manga, and he would flip through them (when they weren't looking, of course), but the problem was that they bought anything. Everything. It was really a wonder that they had the space for all of them. Then again, he didn't really want to know what they did with the discards, either. Sold them? Or maybe Yumasaki just used them as tinder.

Yeah. He definitely did not want to know. He also didn't want to know why Karisawa was trotting up to him with sparkles in her eyes, waving her arms around like a lunatic. At times like this, Kadota seriously considered taking up drinking as a hobby. It had to be more calming than tiles.

"It's so _romantic_" Karisawa did her own version of a ballet spin. "A clandestine taxi to a secret love hotel! I knew it was true love. Izaya and Shizuo were made for each other and now we have proof!" She was not at all bothering to keep her voice down.

"What? Quiet!" Kadota said automatically, feeling a blush darken his cheeks the instant the words 'secret love hotel' escaped her lips. "Don't say stuff like that so loudly!"

Karisawa was completely unfazed. "I need photographic proof!" A pause. "But first I need to _find_ their love nest. . ."

"Yeah, sure," Kadota said, hoping that their love nest would be far away from him. "You go do that. Just – wait, what?" The rest of what she had said caught up with him. "Whose lo – " He couldn't force himself to speak the words. "Who got in a taxi again?"

"Shizuo and Izaya!"

"Got in a taxi together?" Kadota was mystified. It wasn't like Karisawa to have her facts wrong, but she had been known to bend them in order to fit her perfect universe. He gave her a look, chewing on his lower lip. "Are you messing with me?"

"Nope." Her hands folded in front of her and she beamed up at her friend. "Shizuo hailed a cab and they both got in. After a stroll down the sidewalk talking to each other."

"A stroll down the – now I _know_ you're just messing with me."

She shook her head, ear tails whipping, then pulled out her phone. Soon a photo was shoved into Kadota's face. He looked at it. He had to admit that it looked an awful lot like Shizuo and Izaya walking down the street together. Beyond the fading bruises on Izaya's face – the one gracing Shizuo's jaw had already disappeared – there was no evidence that any violence had taken place.

He stared at it for a long time before offering his opinion: "Huh."

The sparkles in her eyes might have been heart shaped. "They're in love!"

"No," Kadota said, firmly. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he was very, very sure that that wasn't it.

"Yes!" She waved the phone at him.

"Two people can walk down the street together and take taxis together without being in love or going to clandestine . . ." Kadota felt the blush spring back into his cheeks. "Anywheres," he hastily finished. "You and Yumasaki have taken taxis together, and you aren't in love." He didn't think. He honestly wasn't sure of the extent of their relationship. That was another thing about them that he had no interest in finding out.

"But they're so pretty!"

Kadota rolled his eyes. "Sure. Whatever you say. Just say it quietly."

"Now I have to tell Yumachi!" There was a pause and then, "Where's Yumachi?"

"How should I know?" Kadota asked, feeling unsettled. And somewhat like a parent. "Where'd you leave him?"

This seemed like a reasonable question to her. "I'll go get him." And then she was off.

Kadota sighed and leaned back against the van. Since he was very, very sure that Izaya and Shizuo were not having a clandestine affair, there could be only one explanation for what had happened. As unlikely as it seemed, they had put aside their differences long enough to team up against the Green Nights.

Good in the long term.

In the short term, Kadota was thinking about building a bomb shelter.

oOoOo 


	12. Chapter 11

_A/N: Apologies for one more OC. This one is fairly minor and was kind of unavoidable. Hopefully you'll like her despite her OCness. ^_^ To make up for it, this chapter is extra long; there was no good place to split it. Enjoy!_

_Also, sorry it's a little late. I suck sometimes._

Chapter Eleven

Celty let her thoughts wander as Shinra educated the kids on faeries. After all, she knew it already. In some ways, she was actually glad that Ceallach had come in and stirred up trouble. It seemed to be bringing the group of them closer. Even Izaya, in his own unique way. Which, now that she thought about it, seemed entirely reasonable for a puck.

She wasn't sure how long it would have taken for her to see the truth about the two changelings if it hadn't been for Ceallach. It made her feel a bit less displaced. Ikebukuro had welcomed her with open arms, but she was still an oddity, something you wouldn't expect to find there.

A lot like this Mask. This was a long way from home for it. So why would anyone bring it here? Because it was stolen. Celty was learning from the people in the underworld who often hired her. Stolen items without an immediate buyer were hidden until the hunt for them died out.

For fae, that could be a very long time. She tuned Shinra out completely then, focusing on the issue. Fae often played what might seem like a very long game to humans. When your lifetime could easily extend into the thousands of years, a human lifetime wasn't that long. If she had been the one to steal it, she would have done exactly this. Hide it amongst humans and wait for even the memory of it to fade.

But you couldn't leave something like this unguarded, thus the protectors. Though, her fingers drummed against her knees as she puzzled things out, wouldn't the thief be worried about the guards either dying or taking the prize for themselves? She reached out and picked up Saki's list. She didn't know everyone, but the names she did know belonged to non-humans, with the exception of Masaomi.

Using other fae would clear up the trouble with death. It didn't stop them from leaving, though, and having your guards able to walk away would be useless. Fae could fall victim to fae magic though, so maybe they _couldn't_ leave. But still, what if they stole it?

What if they didn't know? That would work. They were just there, to guard the city in general from an intrusive presence, without necessarily even being aware of the Mask's existence. But who would accept a job like that? Had they been forced? Had they even known?

What if they had been children?

If the guards were young, they would have always lived in Ikebukuro. She sat up straight and her PDA nearly collided with Izaya's nose. 'Why didn't you stay in Shinjuku?'

"What?" Izaya blinked at her, having almost dozed off while half-listening to Shinra's explanations. "Why'd I leave?" He yawned. "I had to leave. I'd framed Shizu-chan for, for, that thing." Another yawn. "What was it again?"

Shizuo's fists clenched. Celty waved a hand at him. This was important. 'I know why you left. Why did you come _back_?'

That startled Shizuo out of his anger. Celty usually didn't blow him off like that.

"Why not?" Izaya asked, with a shrug. "Ikebukuro is just so interesting. I like Shinjuku okay, but it wasn't home. Not like Ikebukuro is."

'But _why_? Give me specific reasons.' Somehow, Celty was pretty sure he couldn't.

"Why do you all of a sudden care?" Izaya asked. "I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about that sort of thing, anyway. I came back to Ikebukuro because I wanted to. Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Which . . ." He frowned, suddenly realizing what Celty was getting at. "Which was kind of funny because I knew, intellectually, that it was a bad idea. Shizu-chan having threatened to kill me if I ever set foot in Ikebukuro again . . . well, and I sort of came to meet Mikado-kun, because he had said he was moving here . . . there were a lot of different reasons, I guess."

'But you stayed. Even meeting Mikado wouldn't have meant you had to stay.'

"But Mikado-kun was so cute and interesting," Izaya said, mostly to see whether or not Masaomi would start hissing and spitting again.

It worked like a charm. "How about I send you back to Shinjuku in a baggie?"

Izaya snickered. "Adorable," he said, mostly to himself. Saki smacked him upside the head. This seemed to faze Izaya very little; he gave her an amused look and said, "No, it's true that I didn't have to stay in Ikebukuro after I met Mikado-kun. It was just that once I got back here, I realized how much I had missed it. Make your point, Celty. I think we're all getting there."

'I don't think you _can_ leave.' She let that hang there for a second. 'Why is the Mask here, in such an unlikely place? Because the thief is waiting for people to forget about it.'

Anri raised her hand and said shyly, "Wouldn't that be a really long time, if faeries are the ones looking for it?"

Celty gave her a thumbs up. 'A couple hundred years at least.'

Mikado was already thinking ahead along the same lines as Celty had been, staring out into the distance. "So who would volunteer to stay in Ikebukuro for hundreds of years just to protect something?"

'I don't think anyone. The thief wouldn't be able to trust anyone who knew about it.'

"And you think I'm one of them," Izaya said, cutting to the chase. "Because I'm a changeling. Someone probably stole me from my real parents, whoever they are, and dumped me here. Magicked me up so I couldn't leave Ikebukuro. All that I get, but how am I supposed to protect something if I don't know where it is? Or, until this week, that it even exists?"

Celty thought about that. 'He stole and hid you. Put a binding on you to hold you here. He could have done other magicks easily. You can't steal what you don't know about, nor can you tell anyone about it.' She pulled the PDA back and typed a bit longer. 'Protection isn't always a guardian. Sometimes it's just a good lock. But for that, you need a key.'

Izaya stretched, putting his hands behind his head. "If we ever find whoever did this," he said, his voice just as pleasant as usual, "I'm going to destroy them."

'Get in line.' Stealing babies was pretty much unforgivable. Working any sort of magic on them that wasn't for their own protection didn't just cross the line, it leapt over it.

Mikado was frowning. "If whoever hid the Mask was such a bad person to begin with, maybe Ceallach . . ." His voice trailed off. He obviously wasn't comfortable suggesting that Ceallach might be the protagonist of whatever story they were piecing together, but the implication was obviously there.

'No.' The word was absolute, all on its own on the screen.

"I'm not arguing," Shinra said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "But I am curious about your vehemence."

'He hurt Izaya. Knowing he was a child, Ceallach still hurt him.' Celty's posture was stiff and tight. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

"Look, your mama bear routine is kind of cute and really interesting on a psychological level," Izaya said, "but how about you stop calling me a child?"

'You're only twenty-four. You're almost still a _baby_.' She said this partly because it was true and partly to tease him.

"While I will admit that, proportionally speaking, I'm pretty young," Izaya said, "that doesn't make me a baby."

'I'll admit that growing up as human changes things some. It makes you intellectually older and magically younger.' She wiped the screen clear. 'Certainly young enough to be untouchable.' She shrugged then. 'Besides, I _remember_ the last two hundred years. Who knows how old I actually am? You're all children.'

"Oi, Celty, you don't think of me as a child, do you?" Shinra asked, then added hastily, "Don't answer that." Out of everyone in the room, only Shinra could actually read her expression. She was giving him a _look_. He swooned. "Celty! I love you so much!"

Celty just wilted.

"Yeah, that's really touching and all," Izaya said, "but it doesn't exactly answer any of our questions. Like who the second protector and/or key is."

Mikado blinked. "It would be Shizuo-san, wouldn't it?"

Shizuo looked over at him. "Huh?"

"Ah – " Mikado quailed despite himself, but then rallied. "When Ceallach was telling me about the artifact, he said that the protectors . . . how did he phrase it?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mention it before because I can't remember exactly what he said, so much else happened. He said something about how the mask represented singleness, which makes sense now that we know what it is. There's only one truth, right? And he said that the protectors represented duality. Which . . . well, you can't get much more opposite than Shizuo-san and Izaya-san, right? Plus they're both changelings, and both about the same age, so it would make sense that they were put here at the same time."

'You're right,' Celty said. 'You can't get much more different than a puck and a troll.'

"Good," Shizuo muttered, glaring at Izaya. He pulled out a cigarette, but stopped short of lighting it. Shinra didn't let him smoke here.

Izaya's lazy smirk appeared. "And just think – now you're stuck with me for way longer than a regular human lifetime."

"Not if I kill you." Shizuo sounded almost reasonable about it.

"Well, maybe once we've dealt with all this and broken whatever magic was done to us, I'll be able to go back to Shinjuku and live there happily ever after," Izaya said, though he had no real intention of leaving Ikebukuro again, magic or no magic.

"I don't believe you."

Izaya just shrugged.

"Wait," Saki said, suddenly. "Wait, something doesn't make sense. We figured that Ceallach was asking for information on people because he wanted to get the location of the Mask from the protectors. But if you two are the protectors, or keys or whatever, and you've no idea where it's been hidden, then why is Ceallach so intent on finding you?"

"That's right," Mikado said, blinking at her. "You'd think he would want to avoid the people protecting it normally, which means that he knows they're 'keys', not actual guardians."

'And to know that he'd have had to see the protective magic.' Celty said.

"So the reason they kept Izaya-san in their hideout had nothing to do with trying to find me," Mikado said. "They just figured they would try to kill two birds with one stone while they had him down there."

'Maybe. I don't know if the magic would have reacted to him.' She cleared the screen and started again. 'So this list is just to pick up the second key.'

"Well, logically, he's not sure about Izaya-san," Saki said, tapping where Izaya's name appeared on the list. "I think he probably held him because he's a possibility. He obviously figured out that Izaya-san isn't human and wanted to keep his options open. Either way, the point still stands – if he knows enough to realize that he's looking for keys and not guardians, how can he expect to ask them where the Mask is?"

"You think he already knows," Mikado said.

'Maybe he came here knowing where it was, just not how to get to it.'

"Ah," Izaya said, suddenly blinking, coming out of his drugged stupor slightly. "That subway station they're holing up in? It disappeared off the face of the map around the same time I was born. Something having to do with an earthquake, or so everyone thought at the time. That must be where it is. He's camped right on top of it."

"He makes it his headquarters so even if someone else finds it, he can fight them off," Masaomi added.

"So . . ." Mikado blinked. "Is that it? Is it that simple? We know where it is and we know who the keys are. Could we actually just walk in and get it?"

'It's hard to tell,' Celty said. 'It might be that simple, or it may require a sacrifice of some sort or even the thief being there.'

"Well, how do we find out?" Mikado asked.

Celty shrugged. 'Try it.'

Izaya laughed and said, "Because I'm sure this asshole would take really well to the group of us waltzing in there and trying it."

'I didn't say it would be easy. Just that it's how to find out.'

Mikado looked between the two men, then over at Celty. "If the original thief put some sort of magic on them to turn them into keys, or what-have-you," he said, "along with the magic that keeps them in Ikebukuro, is there any way to figure out what sort of magic he did? That might help us get a better idea of what will be necessary if we go to get the Mask."

'I don't know,' Celty typed. 'I'm not very good at a lot of complicated magic. Or if I am, I can't remember without my head.'

"Logically speaking," Izaya said, "knowing the exact nature of the spell probably wouldn't help that much anyway. The spell is probably something that would force us to do whatever the thief wanted, so he could use us to get back the Mask. From my research, that seems like a standard compulsion spell, and wouldn't be limited to cover only the actual act of retrieving the Mask." His gaze shifted, very slightly, to Shizuo, and then he continued, "This asshole could waltz back into town and make us do whatever he wanted."

Shizuo clearly didn't like this. He bit down on the cigarette.

'I wouldn't let anyone do that to you. Either of you.'

Izaya shook his head. "I appreciate that – honestly – except from what I've been able to find out, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Short of killing the thief. Which, if you'd like to do, I would have no problem with."

'Good.'

An awkward silence followed.

"As, uh, as heartwarming as that is," Mikado said, "it really doesn't get us any further in solving our current problem."

Masaomi raised a hand. "Can we find someone who would know how to find out?"

"Such as?" Shinra asked.

Saki pointed to the list. "Well, these people are probably all fae of some sort. Maybe we could check them out and see if any of them know?"

Celty looked at the list. 'Some of them we could ask. I'd trust them.'

"Some of them are Dollars," Mikado added.

'Which ones? If it overlaps, we know who to go to.'

Even Mikado wasn't entirely sure of who was and was not in his gang, something that often amused the others, as their online handles had little to do with their real names. He looked over the list, then put his head together with Saki and Izaya. Several minutes of arguing later – Izaya overruled Mikado twice, annoying the teenager beyond words – they had three names circled beyond the people who were currently sitting in the room. Mikado waited until Izaya wasn't looking, then reached out and circled a fourth. Saki snickered behind her hand. Masaomi snorted and then pretended his nose itched.

Celty took the list and looked it over again. She tapped a name. Fortunately, it was not the one Mikado had circled behind Izaya's back. 'This one.'

"What kind of fae are they?" Shinra asked, wondering if he could smuggle a video camera to the meeting, to which he probably would not be invited.

'She's not exactly a fae. She's native to here, more of a kami.' Celty pulled back the PDA and waved a hand as if to say 'anyway' before typing again. 'She's been around a long time and if it has to do with the city itself she can usually sort it out.'

"So . . . why don't we go to this person all the time?" Shinra asked. "And why didn't Orihara-kun know about her?"

"And why did she join the Dollars?" Mikado asked, looking mystified.

'She knows the city itself. The buildings and such. Not the people. And Izaya didn't know because she didn't want him to." Celty shrugged and then started typing again. 'I think she joined the Dollars for fun.'

"I . . . guess," Mikado said, still stumped. Several of the others exchanged a look. Mikado could be extraordinarily dense at times about exactly how popular his own gang was, and the many reasons different people joined. Now didn't seem to be the time to try to explain it to him, however. "Do you know where she is? And is it okay if you tell people? Or should we just try to set up a meeting?"

'I'll ask her to meet us. She won't want us to know where her home is.'

"Well, get texting," Izaya said. "No time like the present."

'She's going to love you.'

"Everybody loves me," Izaya said, smirking.

The others all looked at each other. Shinra sighed. "Okay," he said, "you were right. Next time it's just straight painkillers. I promise I won't give him narcotics again unless he gets, I don't know, disemboweled or something."

"I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet," Masaomi said.

"He's too slippery to catch," Shizuo offered as an explanation.

"On that note," Izaya said, "I'm going home. Some doctor told me that I should get some rest or something. He's probably a quack, but then again, I _am_ pretty tired. Celty, you'll text me the details about the meeting?"

'Yes. Go. Before someone injures you.'

Izaya tossed off a sloppy salute, then got to his feet. He immediately wobbled, stumbled, and caught himself on Shizuo's chair, nearly falling into the blonde's lap. "The floor is very wavy," he said, blinking around the apartment. "Shinra . . . exactly what did you give me, and how much of it?"

Shinra rubbed his hand on the back of his head. "Well, I didn't want you able to take the splint off, so I may have possibly given you something that would affect your gross motor skills and coordination. I think you didn't notice until now because you were just sitting down, but it may not be a good idea for you to try to walk." He saw Izaya's icy glare and said, "I'll just go call you a taxi then, shall I?"

Shizuo glared. "Get off of me," he said, though he wasn't actually mean enough to shove him.

'Is Namie at the office to make sure you get in okay?' Celty asked.

"Namie-san is in Okinawa," Izaya said. He wasn't getting up, but it was less out of spite and more because he didn't want to fall on his face in front of everybody. "I didn't want her hanging around getting any cute ideas about . . . about anything," he said, seeing the look on Mikado's face. To say nothing of Masaomi's narrowed eyes. "I'm sure I can manage my way from a taxi to my apartment."

"Uh . . ." Saki said, sounding uncertain.

'I'll take you home,' Celty said, before standing.

Izaya opened one eye and looked irritated. "I'm fine," he said. To prove his point, he let go of the chair and removed his hand from Shizuo's shoulder. "See?" he asked, and started towards the door of the apartment. His knees immediately unhinged and dumped him on the floor in a heap. He stayed there for a few moments, listening to the chorus of smothered giggles, then said, "Shinra, you're going to pay for this someday."

'We need another spare room,' Celty said to Shinra as she went to peel Izaya off the floor. Saki stood to help from the other side.

"We could go," Mikado offered hesitantly. "If Shinra-sensei thinks that Masaomi is okay without any further medical supervision."

"I am going home," Izaya declared. "I do not want to spend another night under the care of the man who gave me a paralytic without warning me. Thank you."

Celty heaved a smoky sigh and grabbed her helmet to put on while Saki was steadying Izaya. Then she pulled his arm across her shoulder and put an arm around his waist.

"I just want it clear that I'm not paying you for this," Izaya said, as he did his best to stumble along beside her. "Since it's your boyfriend's fault and everything."

"To be fair," Shinra said, "if we have any interest in being fair, I figured that you were going to go straight home after I wrapped your arm in masking tape, and by the time the paralytic kicked in, you would be there. Then you could stagger your way into bed and not torment anybody for eight to twelve hours until it wore off. But no, you decided to stay here so you could annoy Shizuo-kun and Masaomi-kun, so really, it's as much your fault as mine."

If Celty had been capable of communicating at the moment, she would have made a comment about longing for adult company. As she couldn't, she just tugged Izaya towards the door, in the hopes of derailing the cat fight before it could really kick into gear. Izaya gave Shinra one last glare, but surprisingly went without further commentary. He knew just as well as Celty did that, although Shinra didn't take things seriously ninety-nine percent of the time, that last one percent of the time could be a doozy. That one percent usually had to do with what was best for his patients, so arguing his proper use of medication was simply doomed for failure.

Besides, the idea of eight to twelve hours of sleep was pretty appealing.

They were almost at the door when it occurred to Saki that pointed ears were not normal. "Izaya? Ears. No one will believe that you're cosplaying a Vulcan."

"Huh? Oh, right." Izaya shook himself slightly, like a dog shaking off water. The image of him standing there blurred and rippled, causing most of the humans to blink several times, and then the man they were used to was there, still draped between Saki and Celty for support. Shizuo didn't feel any need to look away.

"Freaky," Masaomi said, though he seemed impressed.

Celty merely shook her helmet and started to lead Izaya away again.

oOoOo

Celty thought it was nice to have someone on the bike with her that she didn't have to worry about falling off. Most of the time Shizuo could maintain his own balance and if he couldn't, he was smart enough to wrap his arms around her without prompting. He even wore the helmet she created without argument.

Not long ago, she had sent a text to Izaya telling him where to meet her. Once she had picked Shizuo up, it hadn't taken long to get to their high-rise destination. Izaya arrived a few minutes later on foot, looking none the worse – in fact, looking a good deal better – for the night of enforced rest. He nodded hello to her and seemed content to pretend that Shizuo didn't exist. Shizuo was willing to return the favor.

Celty raised a hand in greeting and gestured to the door, asking if everyone was ready. Izaya nodded and smirked. "Ladies first." Celty wanted desperately to roll her eyes, but she wasn't sure exactly where they were, so she settled for marching forward and opening the door. Shizuo made it clear he expected Izaya to go next. Izaya put his hands in his pockets and sauntered through as if he didn't have a care in the world, following Celty over to the elevator.

Shizuo followed them in. Celty pressed the button to call the elevator and then, once they were all inside, she hit the button for the penthouse. Once the doors closed, she dropped her PDA into her hand and typed. The message was shown to Izaya. 'Try to be polite.' After a second she realized this was a lost cause. 'At least try not to be rude.'

"You know, this may come as something of a surprise to both of you," Izaya said, "but I _am_ a businessman, and I have lots of clients who don't tolerate rudeness."

'Yes, but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the Lady of the City.'

Izaya shrugged. "I'll behave myself if she does."

Celty chose not to say anything else, but clearly thought that they were in for an interesting afternoon. The elevator dinged and slid open on the topmost floor of the building. They stepped out expecting to see perhaps a hallway with another door, but instead they walked directly into the penthouse suite. At one point in its existence, it had probably been beautiful, but it was clearly the living space of someone who had far too much else to do to bother with decorating. Stacks of belongings were piled everywhere. Books and papers lived in untidy piles. There were bookshelves on every wall, and chairs all over the place, all of them covered with clutter. Some of the piles were coated with a thin layer of dust. An equal number of chairs had potted plants living on top of them.

Music was playing, something classical, with the distinct scratchiness of an old record player rather than anything more modern. Yet despite this, in one corner was a very advanced looking computer, complete with a multi-function printer/scanner and other expensive peripherals. The monitor was on, displaying a screensaver that made it look like they were traveling through outer space.

The floor, what of it they could see, was tile. The walls were covered by decorations of every variety. Paintings, posters, newspaper clippings, tapestries. Not an inch of the wall underneath was visible except around the large bay windows, which allowed the sunlight to stream in and afforded a spectacular view of the city below.

It was not what Shizuo had expected by any means. In his mind the words 'lady' conjured up images of lace curtains, brocade chairs and hand-painted British tea sets. Or maybe tatami mats, formal kimonos and wood block prints done by the masters. Not this haphazard clutter. But he kept his surprise to himself and paid careful attention to where he put his feet.

Celty wasn't really surprised. She had enough of her old memories to understand that age often made people eccentric. She figured she would get there herself eventually. Izaya, for his part, merely looked around slowly, doing a formal catalogue of the penthouse as if he expected there to be a quiz later.

There was a flutter and a bird appeared out of one of the adjacent rooms. It landed on a perch just in front of them and tilted its head to one side. Then it squawked. "Visitors! Visitors!"

Shizuo was immediately fascinated by the animal. He approached the bird and peered at it from what seemed like a correct distance and then held out a hand to it. It gave him a considering look before extending a claw and resting it on his outstretched finger, bobbing up and down as if shaking hands.

"You just get cuter every day, Shizu-chan," Izaya remarked.

Shizuo gravely shook hands with the bird. "I like animals." The words were directed at Izaya even though his attention stayed on the birds, and his tone dared him to make an issue of it.

Celty decided that they could bicker all they wanted as long as there was no violence.

"Finding companionship on an intellectual level?" Izaya asked, smirking.

Shizuo turned to glare at Izaya with a growl, though his finger, still in the bird's grip, didn't move.

Celty shoved her PDA into Izaya's face. 'I'd hate to have to gag you.'

"Actually," a new voice said, "I rather imagine you would enjoy that."

All three of them turned to see the Lady of the City as she entered the room. This was more in line with what the two who hadn't met her had expected. She was tall for a woman, with classically beautiful Japanese features. Her hair hung straight to her waist, mostly black but with several streaks of gray. She was, in fact, wearing a formal kimono that was dark blue and purple, along with geta. She walked carefully, picking her way across the clutter, and the bird immediately left Shizuo and flew over to perch on her shoulder, preening there.

Shizuo blinked in confusion. Oh, he could guess roughly what Celty had said to Izaya, but how had this woman known? From where she was standing, there was no way she could have seen the PDA.

Celty typed and then held it out to the Lady of the City. 'Maybe. A little. I try to tell myself that he's a child.'

"A child!" the Lady laughed merrily. "How generous you are. Come in, please, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Tea?"

Shizuo grinned at the comment and then seemed to remember his manners. He bowed to her. Once he was upright, he looked to Celty quickly and then accepted for both of them. "Yes, please." Though he looked around, not at all sure where they should sit.

"Oh, anywhere is fine," the Lady said. She waved a hand negligently and a tea service cart came rolling into the room of its own accord, parking next to a table that was suddenly, miraculously, free of clutter. The chairs, however, had not cleared. At her words, Izaya shrugged, moved a stack of books off one of them, and sat down.

Celty gave a shrug and began to do the same, respectfully setting the books aside and putting the small potted tree in a place where it would still get sunlight. Shizuo copied her and soon they were both seated. The Lady was bustling around with the tea service. "Now, let me see . . ." She pointed to each of them in turn. "Milk tea with extra sugar for you, plain green for you, and there's a nice rose tea for you, Celty, dear, it should smell quite strong." She poured four mugs from the single teapot, each one of them coming out as something different, and shared out the mugs. Shizuo and Celty took their mugs with a nod of thanks from each; even Izaya looked impressed and intrigued by the teapot. After a moment Celty reached up and took her helmet off and then cradled the mug in her hands.

"So!" The Lady rubbed her hands together and peered at the two men. "You're a bundle of trouble and no mistake."

'And that's even without the recent events.' Celty said, but she patted Shizuo's arm once to show she meant no harm with the words, knowing he could be oddly sensitive. Izaya, however, enjoyed being a trouble spot.

"A puck and a troll." After a pause, the Lady shook her head and said sadly, "That's the trouble with sneaking imports past customs. The local balance gets all fouled up because of it and the indigenous wildlife suffers. But that's all right. Ikebukuro thrives on change, on the gathering of many disparate factors. Things come together here that would otherwise never be in the same place at the same time." She sipped her tea. "Ikebukuro is a great confluence of natural energy, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Izaya let out a snort. "And people say _I'm_ cryptic."

'That's because you are,' Celty told him.

"Okay, look, uh . . ." Izaya frowned. "What are we supposed to call you?"

"I've been called many things, but for the purposes of this conversation, I suppose just 'Lady' will do as well as anything else."

Izaya laughed suddenly. "Sounds like I'm calling a dog."

"Oh?" The Lady's tone held disinterest. "I suppose there are worse things. Isaiah was martyred, you know. He was sawed in half."

Nobody knew what to say to that. Izaya's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before he managed, "Duly noted, Lady."

There was another long pause and then Celty said, 'Not tolerant of rudeness indeed.'

"Oh, I'm not suggesting that as a solution to the current problem," the Lady said, "merely pointing out that there are more things in the world than names. As our so elegantly-named taichou would be happy to point out, I'm sure." She shook her head and clucked her tongue. "How they managed to give him that name without realizing the interesting life he would lead is completely beyond me . . ."

Since she seemed prepared to ramble for some time, Izaya cautiously interrupted her. "Lady," he said, "we need information on the magicks that were done to us when we were hidden here."

"Please," Shizuo tacked on. He knew little about the Bible, but the name comparison was enough to make him think that they should go for painfully polite here.

Izaya gave him a sideways glance and opened his mouth to make a pithy remark about Shizuo being afraid of an old lady. Then, for once, he thought better of the idea and added, "We'll pay for the information, of course."

"Piffle," she said, waving him off. "We're all Dollars here, are we not? And as I'm sure Celty here has told you, there is a certain responsibility we all share when it comes to changelings. What, exactly, do you need to know?"

Celty watched Izaya and Shizuo and had to wonder if she was the only one that realized that the comment about Isaiah wasn't actually a threat. Though if it kept a civil tongue is Izaya's mouth . . . 'We need to know about the compulsion spell laid on them.'

"Hm, hm, of course," the Lady said, sipping her tea. She leaned back in her chair and gave both of the men a thorough look. "Two guardians," she said, "that represent the duality of the world. Whoever did this certainly thinks that he is very clever, hm? There's a standard compulsion, of course, one that would force them to obey our clever thief. Have to be laid on fae as a child, or else it would never take . . . which I'm sure you knew already? But there is something deeper . . . much more subtle . . . hidden under the obvious."

Celty pondered that for a moment. Then it hit her. 'Of course. Duality. It would have to have two parts to it. Human and fae, steady and changing.' Here she gestured at Shizuo and Izaya and then took a moment to clear the screen. 'Obvious.' Again she indicated Shizuo. 'And subtle,' with a gesture to Izaya. The smoking darkness shifted, indicating a sigh. The screen was cleared again. 'But I'm afraid I've lost too much to be able to decipher it on my own.'

"Mm," the Lady said. "It's well-known that you two don't get along. But that would be expected. For a puck and a troll not to get along. Nobody would ever look any deeper than that . . ."

'But changelings left at the same time in the same place would find more in common with each other than with anyone else,' Celty commented. 'Even a puck and troll.'

The Lady nodded. "The inherent knowledge of being different, knowing that there's a _reason_ why they don't fit in, would draw them together. Particularly in a case like this, where they're the same age and were introduced when relatively young. I don't suppose there was some sort of event I don't know about?"

Izaya shrugged. "Nope. Shizu-chan hadn't done anything besides lay eyes on me when he decided he was going to spend the rest of his life throwing heavy objects at my skull."

Shizuo looked away a little. It was, for the most part, true. "You smell like trouble. Bad trouble. It grates." He turned back with a sharp look. "It's not like you tried to walk away."

"Hey, I don't care," Izaya said. "At the very same time, Shinra was introducing me as a horrible person. And he was my best friend. I never . . ." He frowned slightly. "I never thought it was weird that you hated me at first sight. It seemed to make perfect sense to me."

'But that's not like Shizuo. I had always thought you had somehow started something,' Celty said. Thinking back, Shinra had never really given her the details.

"Thanks, Celty," Izaya said, clearly amused. "Your faith in me is heartwarming."

'You like to kick hornets' nests to see what will happen, and Shizuo has a temper.'

"To be fair, I _did_ pull a knife on him," Izaya said. "But that was after he destroyed the table I was sitting on with one punch. Other than that, I was just my charming self, so who knows why he decided he didn't like me?"

Shizuo made a frustrated noise. "I just told you why I didn't like you," he said, clearly wondering why no one had been listening.

"You told me that I smelled bad," Izaya snarked back. "So sorry; I guess they don't make a cologne that covers up 'likes to cause trouble' well enough to protect your sensitive nose."

"That's just like you. Cover a problem up. Hide things until you can use it to your advantage." Shizuo sounded as disgusted as he felt.

"At least I've never beaten the crap out anybody by accident," Izaya snapped.

The mug in Shizuo's hand shattered. The stark and immediate proof that he could easily lose control didn't improve his mood. "At least it was an accident and I'm actually sorry about it. You ruin people for fun."

"Hey, I know what I'm good at. You've never kept a job longer than six weeks up until you got one threatening people and licking Tom's boots, not even your precious bartending job – "

"You ruined that. I was happy for once and you ruined it!" Shizuo was on his feet, though he didn't remember standing.

"Interesting," the Lady murmured. "It's very interesting, isn't it, Celty dear?"

Celty was on her feet as well, a restraining hand pushing at Shizuo's shoulder and the PDA in Izaya's face. 'Shut it.' She didn't have time for polite with both of them spoiling for a fight. After a minute she was able to get Shizuo to sit down. 'Says the person who hasn't had to clean them both up afterwards.'

"A fascinating way of doing the compulsion," the Lady continued, as if Celty hadn't said anything to her. "Taking the animosity that would likely be present anyway and amplifying it. Quite economical; maximum yield with minimal effort. Subtle. Nobody would even notice it was there if they weren't specifically looking. They would just assume it was because of their very different personalities. Even the two bound have never noticed anything unusual, despite the fact that they literally cannot sit in an apartment together for more than ten minutes without giving over to violence. A very clever thief indeed."

"Hey, here's a thought," Izaya snapped at her. "Maybe you shouldn't be so impressed with this guy in front of the two people he's fucked over."

Shizuo looked startled and it cut through the fit of temper enough for him to stop fighting Celty. He hadn't expected to be included in Izaya's assessment of who the injured party was.

'Can it be undone?' Celty asked, keeping a hand on Shizuo's shoulder though it was now a friendly gesture rather than a restraining one.

The Lady shrugged. "Anything is possible, but in this case . . . I'd say it's likely that only the creator of the compulsion could break it."

"Whatever," Izaya said. "I don't need to be buddies with Shizu-chan."

Shizuo tried to stand and Celty kept him down. To Izaya, she said, 'Try to have some self preservation. You're injured.'

"It's not my fault if he has no self-control," Izaya said, smirking as he tucked his hands behind his head.

"We're missing the answer to a vital question," the Lady said thoughtfully, to all appearances oblivious to the fact that blood was about to be shed all over her apartment. "Why does the thief want them to hate each other?"

Celty tapped her finger, thinking, all the while keeping a metaphysical eye on the two men. 'So no one but him can get them into the same place for any length of time.'

"And no one can get them to agree on anything or work together," the Lady said. She seemed pleased with herself. "An ingenious way of protecting his investment."

'Yes, if entirely despicable.'

The Lady shrugged. She was obviously not impressed. "Ikebukuro is host to many despicable, unimaginable things every day. This is hardly the worst."

'True. But it doesn't mean I have to tolerate it should I ever meet him.' A pause. 'But that is between me and him.'

"Fair enough, dear," the Lady said. "But just a word of warning: should you seek him out, find him, kill him, or force him to break his compulsion . . . some things cannot be unlearned." She gestured to where Shizuo and Izaya were sitting across from each other at the table, Shizuo's fierce scowl and tense posture compared to Izaya's lazy smirk and relaxed body designed solely to make the blonde even more angry. "These two are quite possibly a case in point."

'I'll settle for ending it before it strips away what tolerance they do have for each other. Thin though it is.'

"True," the Lady said cheerfully. "They rarely _actually_ try to kill each other."

'So far.' The Celty waved a hand as if waving the subject off. She might ask the Lady for help on the topic again, but not in front of Shizuo and Izaya. 'But it isn't something to worry about right now.'

"True again," the Lady said. "You're going to go find the Mask. Are you really sure you want to do that, dearie?"

'No, but it's the lesser evil.' Celty never wanted to have to be the master of that sort of power.

"Oh?" the Lady asked. "Perhaps your version of the legend is incomplete. The Mask, you see, is deadly to whoever wears it. Oh, they speak the truth. They see the Truth. They see the Universe. They see so much that they go stark raving mad. Not a soul who has worn it for more than a few minutes has ever survived."

Izaya's mouth sagged slightly. His half-formed plans of managing to take the Mask for his own uses took a rather dramatic turn in his head.

Celty wasn't exactly surprised. 'Does Ceallach know this?'

"Oh, yes, dearie, of course." The Lady nodded, unperturbed as she sipped her tea. "Mortals fare better than fae, or 'better' in the sense that they'd be more useful to Ceallach. The fae who wear the Mercurial Mask go mad, and often either drop dead or end their own lives. But mortals? They just get taken over by the Mask. They're a channel to the truth. They're not really there anymore, not underneath. But they can last a good long while, if all you want are Answers."

'Then I very definitely want it. Or at least I want to keep him from getting it.'

"Suit yourself," the Lady said. "I've no opinion on the matter. 'Even the very wise cannot see all ends.' That's a quote from something."

"Gandalf," Izaya supplied.

The Lady gave him a look. "I know that, infant."

There was an odd noise from Celty's other side. Maybe a snort or a cough. Then after a moment it turned into a quiet but very real laugh. Shizuo had a hand over his mouth to muffle it, but it didn't work very well.

Izaya gave him a look. "You're just as much of a baby as I am, you know," he said.

"But I know when to keep my mouth shut." Shizuo might have been just the tiniest bit smug.

"I'm amazed you ever learned how to speak at all – "

The Lady sighed. "Will you take the two of them out before they destroy my apartment? I rather like this place and don't relish the thought of building another."

'I can save the apartment, but I'm not so sure about the neighborhood.'

"Well. That, fortunately, is not my problem." The Lady made shooing motions with her hands. "On your way, now."

Celty stood and bowed then picked up her helmet and put it on. 'Thank you for your time and help.'

"Thanks, obaasan," Izaya said, smirking as he rose.

Shizuo also rose and bowed. Celty grabbed Izaya's sleeve near the elbow and turned him towards the door before he could say anything else, then hustled the two of them out of the apartment with fairly equal prejudice. The Lady of the City waved merrily as they left, saying, "Give my regards to taichou!"

Celty nodded to show she had heard. The silence in the elevator was tense and before either Izaya or Shizuo could break it, she had her PDA out. 'We are going to leave this building like civilized adults.' There was a pause as she cleared the screen and continued on. 'You will continue to behave like adults until I am well out of sight. Understood?'

Izaya's smirk became an actual grin and he saluted with his unwounded arm. "Understood."

'Shizuo?'

Shizuo's knuckles creaked with tension, but he nodded. The silence remained all the way until they had gotten down to the street. Celty got on her bike and drove away, resolutely not looking behind herself no matter how great the temptation was.

Izaya looked at Shizuo and smirked. "Just remember that I'm injured," he said, blew the blonde a kiss, and took off like a shot.

Shizuo let the flying street sign make his opinion on the matter clear.

oOoOo 


	13. Chapter 12

_A/N: This chapter feels to me kind of placeholdery, like the deep breath before the plunge. *takes deep breath*_

Chapter Twelve

The day at school was blessedly uneventful for the three students at Raira. Mikado hadn't been so sure that Masaomi should be out and about – just because Shinra had cleared him to leave the doctor's apartment didn't mean he could go back to all his usual activities – but he knew that there was no way Masaomi would stay at home if Mikado was in school. He couldn't even fault the other teenager's logic on that score, and settled for a promise that he wouldn't engage in any strenuous activities.

"And strenuous by _my_ definition," he had said that morning. "Not yours."

Masaomi had just laughed and brushed him off, but the day passed without him managing to do anything to land himself in the hospital, so Mikado had to be content with that. He was thumbing through the forum on the Dollars' website while he waited for Anri and Masaomi to change their shoes so they could head out.

His phone beeped shrilly to indicate that he had a new text message. He winced at the noise and immediately began searching through the menus to make the alert sound a little less obnoxious. Before long he was enthralled in a list of ringtones and had nearly forgotten that he had a message at all. After he had selected one, he went back to the main screen and saw the little envelope, and hurriedly went to find out what the message was.

Masaomi shamelessly peered over Mikado's shoulder after he straightened from putting his boots on. It had taken a little longer than usual as curling over like that still hurt a bit. "Oooooh, who's it from?"

"Celty-san," Mikado said, and Anri looked up at this, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "She said that they met with the Lady of the City this morning and got some information, and that she thinks we can get the mask if, er, if Izaya-san and Shizuo-san haven't killed each other by the end of the day."

"Think it's more likely than usual?" Masaomi was wondering if they could make it to a bomb shelter.

"She doesn't say, but if she bothered to mention it at all . . ."

"Not reassuring," Masaomi agreed.

Mikado nodded and went quiet, deep in thought. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking over what the next few days would bring. In order to get the mask, they would need Ceallach and hopefully most of his men out of the subway station. He could only think of one way to guarantee that, and it wasn't something he was sure he wanted to do. If Celty thought they were going to be able to make a move, he would have to make a decision, and soon.

"Shall we go back to Shinra-sensei's, then?" Anri asked. "We could ask Saki-san to meet us there, if she isn't busy."

Masaomi nodded and swung his bag up onto his shoulder without thinking and winced. "Yeah." He pulled out his own phone and began tapping out a text. He had found it was usually better to text her, in case she was conducting some sort of business.

Anri and Mikado exchanged a surprised look; both of them had expected Masaomi to at least put up some sort of token protest about Saki being involved at all. Not wanting to draw attention to this, Anri cleared her throat and asked, "Mikado-kun, have you met the Lady of the City? From the way Celty-san described her, she sounded interesting."

Mikado shook his head. "No, I haven't met her. I didn't know she was a kami, either." Somewhat mystified, he added, "Is it just me, or do the Dollars have a rather high ratio of supernatural members?"

"It's because you don't try to exploit it," Masaomi said, looking up as he sent off the text. "It makes it safe for them to join."

"I'm trying to imagine a world in which anyone would be stupid enough or crazy enough to try to exploit Shizuo-san," Mikado said.

"A world without the Dollars," Masaomi supplied.

"But the Dollars haven't always existed," Mikado replied. "Shizuo-san and Izaya-san and the others have been here since long before the Dollars."

"People tried. Imagine what it would be like to have Shizuo at your beck and call. How powerful that would make you." Masaomi shook his head and shrugged. "I always thought he blew everyone off, but he _did_ join the Dollars. So clearly he wanted to belong, right?"

Mikado nodded, his expression thoughtful. He still wondered why so many disparate people had joined the Dollars. Was it really as simple as that? That they just wanted a place to belong? It made sense. That was all _he_ had wanted.

Masaomi grinned. "Don't overthink things."

"Just because _your_ brain overheats if you try to present it with complex problems . . ." Mikado said, and Anri giggled, hiding it behind her hand. Masaomi simply swatted at Mikado. Mikado grinned at him and went back to poking through the forum on his phone. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Shizuo-san and Izaya-san didn't kill each other. Lots of people witnessed their fight this morning; apparently it was pretty spectacular, something about a billboard and the light rail and an improvised skateboard. But they both seem to have walked away from it. Izaya-san must be feeling better."

"He has a strong sense of self-preservation," Masaomi grumbled.

Anri glanced over at them and hesitantly said, "Does anyone else worry about . . . about the idea of Izaya-san getting anywhere near that Mask that tells the truth about everything?"

"Raise your hand if the idea creeps you out!" Masaomi's hand shot up.

Mikado let out a nervous laugh and raised his hand as well. "I'm pretty sure that Celty-san has no intention of letting Izaya-san get his grabby paws on it."

"Of course not, but that might not stop him."

"Then we'll stop him," Mikado said, his voice firm. He slid his hand into Anri's and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You give me shivers when you're so determined," Masaomi said with a dramatic shudder, but he did look a little less worried.

"Good shivers, I hope," Mikado said, bumping shoulders with him since his arm was still in a sling.

Masaomi grinned. "Of course. All tingly."

Anri raised her eyebrows at the two of them and said, "Should I leave you two alone?"

"No, don't leave me alone with him," Mikado said, laughing. "What are you thinking?"

"You're right." Anri looked appropriately contrite. "I'm sorry."

"I'm hurt!" Masaomi clutched at his heart and staggered backwards.

Mikado smiled at him, then asked Anri, "How'd you do on the trig test? I thought it was really tough."

"Oh . . . yeah, it was," Anri agreed. "I only got an eighty-five . . ."

Masaomi pouted. Mikado shot him a sideways glance and a smile, and changed the subject to something they could all talk about. They chatted until they reached Shinra's apartment. Saki was waiting outside for them, not wanting to go up until they had all arrived. She greeted them with her usual smile and a kiss to Masaomi's cheek. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Ah, someone who truly appreciates me."

"Have they been abusing you terribly?" Saki asked him, her voice full of laughter.

Masaomi laid his head on her shoulder. "It was horrible." Then he popped back up and planted a kiss on her cheek. "But you make it all better."

Mikado simply rolled his eyes and went for the elevator, still hand-in-hand with Anri. Saki grinned and followed them, sliding an arm around Masaomi's waist. He went along with her, saying, "We keep this up and Shinra is going to make us pay rent."

"You say that like he wasn't very clear on how you needed to come by for a check-up today," Mikado mentioned.

"I had forgotten about that, ha ha." A pause. "Oops."

All three of the other teens now rolled their eyes, as the elevator took them up to Shinra and Celty's apartment. Masaomi knocked and then stumbled back a step as the door was actually whipped open and Celty's PDA nearly collided with his nose. All he saw were the word 'don't care if you're hurt' before it was pulled back. He blinked as Celty's posture went from bristling to sheepish. She typed, 'You're not Izaya.' The PDA was pulled back and then returned. 'Or Shizuo.' Another pause. 'Please come in.'

"Spent the morning with them, did you?" Saki asked, her tone sympathetic.

'It isn't even their fault and I still wanted to hogtie Shizuo and gag Izaya.' She stepped back and gestured for them to come in.

"How is it not their fault?" Mikado asked, puzzled.

Celty shut the door behind them and then led the to the living room. 'Compulsion spell. They actually can't help hating each other.'

"Wow, that's . . ." Mikado's voice trailed off. His mind immediately began to click through all the pieces of information, finally able to arrange them into a picture that made sense. His eyes widened slightly. "Like hiding something in plain sight," he said. "So to get the Mask, all we really need to do is get Shizuo-san and Izaya-san in the same place. The right place."

The other teenagers blinked at him. Light started to dawn on Saki's face. "What?" Anri asked, clearly puzzled by Mikado's conclusions.

"But they're in the same place together all the time. It isn't that hard to get them in the same place." Masaomi said, sounding as confused as Anri looked.

"Well, that's why I said it has to be the right place," Mikado said. "Sure, they're together all the time, but only because they bump into each other. What are the odds they would voluntarily go out to coffee together or something? Or in this case, the odds that they would somehow stumble into an abandoned underground subway station together?"

'I think you're both right. It does have to be the same place, but I think they have to go on purpose, willingly, _together_.'

"Maybe you should start at the beginning," Saki said.

Celty went to retrieve her laptop and then explained, which took some time. When she was done, there was a moment of silence, which Masaomi broke. "You mean we've all lived in mortal fear of Izaya's mouth and flying vending machines because some jackass wanted to lift an overgrown piece of jewelry?"

"Well, even if the spell hadn't been there, it sounds like they wouldn't have liked each other," Anri pointed out.

'Yes and no.' Celty said and then took a moment to formulate her thoughts. 'They would have very different personalities, yes. But two changelings in the same place and of the same age would have gravitated towards each other. They're different from each other but they're each even more different from everyone else. They would have been an odd couple of sorts.'

Mikado opened his mouth, then shut it, thinking that he had been spending too much time on the internet.

The expression was not lost on Celty, who also spent a lot of time on the internet. 'You are spending too much time with Karisawa.'

Saki snickered, hiding it behind her hand. Anri looked blessedly confused. Mikado cleared his throat and said hastily, "But in a way, it makes what this guy did even worse. He isolated them. They could have been friends. I know it's kind of a strange concept, like . . . opposite world comes to life or something, but . . ." His voice trailed off. He wasn't quite sure what he meant, why he felt so angry over what had been done to these two men who were not even really his friends.

Neither Masaomi nor Celty were surprised at Mikado's anger. He liked happy endings, and the thief had ruined one before it even got started. Celty whole-heartedly agreed with Mikado. 'The thief will come back someday. And I'll be waiting.'

"Can we do anything about it?" Anri asked. Though she wasn't fond of Izaya and didn't feel the same righteous indignation that Mikado did, she did like the idea of a more peaceful Ikebukuro.

'No. I'm not all that great at spells and even if I was, it's . . . wrapped around them now. They grew up with it. The only person who can undo it is the thief. And even then it's shaped their personalities.'

"They're so used to arguing with each other," Mikado agreed with a sigh. "Well, I guess that's something to worry about on another day." He thought about what Celty had told them about the Mask and its theoretical effects on humans or fae. In a way, it was a good thing. He wasn't sure whether or not Izaya would still try to use it, but it had to give him pause. That would give them more time to worry about the consequences of its discovery. "Are the two of them going to go get the mask?"

'They most likely can't take on all of Ceallach's men themselves.'

"I know that." Somewhere in the midst of everything, Mikado realized, he had made his decision. "That's why the Dollars are going to hold their third get-together, and Saki is going to tell Ceallach where and when it is."

"Think he'll fall for it?" Masaomi asked Saki.

Saki considered, then nodded. "Yes. He offered a special bonus if I could give him any information that led him to the Dollars, so he won't think it's unusual if I bring back news of a meeting. He doesn't know enough about the Dollars to realize that such a meeting would be extremely rare."

Masaomi scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Talk about painting a target on ourselves."

"Are you sure about this, Mikado-kun?" Anri asked.

Mikado nodded. "I need to talk to Kadota-san. He'll be able to help me get everyone together. And I'll make it clear that this isn't a meeting that everyone should show up to. Anyone who comes should be prepared for trouble, like the group Kadota-san rounded up to take on the Blue Squares. I don't like using the Dollars like that, but I think it's our best option at this point. It's pretty much guaranteed to get Ceallach out of their hideout along with the majority of his gang, especially if he knows that Masaomi and I will be there."

"With crowbars," Masaomi added helpfully.

"I'll leave that to you," Mikado said, though his expression was faintly troubled.

"What?" Masaomi wasn't quite sure what to do with the look on Mikado's face.

Mikado thought it over, then turned to Masaomi and said decisively, "If you get hurt again, I'll stop letting you copy my history homework, and don't think that I haven't noticed."

"I . . . but! . . . that's not . . ." Masaomi slumped.

Both girls giggled. "Well," Saki said, "Mikado-kun seems to have things well in hand on that score. I need to sit down and compile the information I'm going to give Ceallach; it will have to be a detailed report or else he won't think I've put enough effort in to earn my fee. So I'll be busy today. Mikado-kun, I assume you will be as well. Maybe Anri-chan should take up the chore of getting Masaomi to do his schoolwork?"

Masaomi gave Anri sad eyes, mostly just to see what she would do.

"Schoolwork is very important, Masaomi-kun," she said solemnly.

"But it's booooriiiingg." Masaomi knew he would give in, but he was going to make Anri work for it.

"That's good," she said, her smile encouraging. "A little boredom will help keep your life balanced."

"You're so cruel," Masaomi said, swooning dramatically. "Mikado, save me!"

"Huh?" Mikado was texting away and not paying a jot of attention. "Oh, sure . . . listen to everything Anri-san says; she's much smarter than either of us."

At that Masaomi actually lost his balance mid-swoon and hit the ground his mouth opening and closing. Saki laughed merrily and extended both her hands to him, pulling him to his feet. "You should know better than to ask for help from Mikado when he's immersed in business," she teased him. "Apparently none of us measure up to that."

Masaomi grinned. "True. After all, the new phone has a keyboard."

"I know you're mocking me," Mikado said, still not looking up. "I just want you to know that I'm not totally oblivious."

Masaomi sighed dramatically. "Come on Anri-chan. Homework seems like a safer option."

oOoOo

"Dotachiiiiiiin~!" Karisawa called out. Her voice echoed in the large room where Kadota was carefully placing tiles.

"Hang on," he said. Five rows across, six rows down . . .

"You have e-mail!" Yumasaki told him.

Kadota thought about pointing out that the reason he had left his phone with his jacket in the outer room was because he didn't want anything distracting him while he was laying down a complicated pattern. Then he decided against it. It wouldn't make any difference with the two of them. And to tell the truth, they had been wonderful for his powers of concentration. "Who's it from?" he asked. Five rows across, eight rows down . . .

"Taichou!" they chorused.

Kadota glanced over, then stood, wiping his hands on the knees of his pants. Little flecks of grout fell off them. "Lemme see," he said. With a pout, Karisawa handed over his phone. He thumbed through the e-mail quickly while they looked at him expectantly. "Huh. He wants a meeting of the Dollars. Thinks those Nights will probably show up. I guess he wants to give them a hard time."

"Well, he's in the right place!" Yumasaki said.

Togusa, standing behind them, rolled his eyes in agreement. "What's he want from you?"

"Not sure yet." Kadota typed back a quick message. They didn't have to wait very long for a reply. "He's thinking about the Scarves' old headquarters." He thought it over and nodded briefly. "Good place for it. Far enough away from everything else that no one will mind a ruckus, and big enough to hold everyone. Bonus, everyone who might be showing up already knows where it is from that shit last autumn."

They all considered this while he typed a reply, ending it with 'just let us know when and we'll be there'.

Seconds stretched into minutes while they waited to see what Mikado was going to say. Kadota got sick of it and went back to counting tiles, wondering why anybody needed a pattern so intricate for their bedroom floor. Who wanted tiles in a bedroom anyway? Cold feet in the middle of the night . . . His phone jingled. So did the phones of the other three, almost simultaneously. "Huh," he said, as they all grabbed for them.

The reason for the wait was quickly apparent. Mikado had sent out a detailed e-mail to the entire Dollars list, as well as posting the same message on the forum. It explained who the Green Nights were, what they wanted, and much of the events of the past week. He then went on to explain the purpose of the meeting as a decoy. He was very clear that only people with fighting experience and a willingness to put themselves in danger should attend, and that they should arm themselves with anything made of iron.

A follow-up text was quickly sent to Kadota that just said 'can you please help get everyone organized' and 'thanks for all your help'. "Hn," Kadota said, chewing this over. He went back to laying tile while the others chattered cheerfully about how exciting this all was. After about fifteen minutes had passed, he went back to the forum.

It had exploded into a frenzy of activity. He scrolled through the messages quickly. Most of them were fairly short. 'Awesome, I'll be there.' 'I work at a mechanic; I'll bring some tire irons with me.' 'Think I'll sit this one out.' 'Sounds pretty scary. Let me talk to my boyfriend and I'll get back to you.' 'Dollars kick ass!' 'No Mafia fairies are gonna walk into Ikebukuro and push us around!' 'See everyone tomorrow night!'

"So . . . what did Taichou want you to do, exactly?" Togusa asked.

Kadota was grinning despite himself. "He still thinks he needs my help to run his own damned gang." He held up his phone, displaying the forum, in evidence. "I think he's in for a surprise."

"Not nearly as big as the one the Nights are in for," Togusa said, looking through the back of the van for his tire iron.

"Heh." Kadota's grin widened. "You got that right."

oOoOo

Saki arrived at Russia Sushi about fifteen minutes prior to the meeting time because she wanted to have a quiet word with Simon and the owner first. Kadota wouldn't be here to watch out for her this time, busy with the Dollars, and she wanted Simon to keep a close eye on her. It would be too easy for Ceallach to kidnap her if he saw through her true intentions.

Simon needed no coaxing; it was raining and standing outside was only making him damp and was certainly not drawing in any customers. He came inside under the guise of helping with the dinner preparation. Saki sat down in the same room they had been given last time. Simon brought her hot tea.

Ceallach was again prompt, folding an umbrella as he was shown inside, an action so mundane that it amused Saki. He nodded to her in greeting.

Saki gave a nod in return. "Ceallach-san," she acknowledged politely. She sipped her tea while waiting for him to settle. Once he was sitting, she set a large packet of papers sealed in plastic to ward off the moisture next to her on the table.

Ceallach reached out and took them without waiting for her to say anything else. "I'd like to review these if you don't mind waiting," he said, though his tone of voice made it clear that this wasn't really a suggestion.

Saki smiled a little, clearly amused by his behavior. "By all means." She waved a hand. It was information about everyone on the list. There was more on some than others, all quite detailed, and enough of it was true to keep him from being suspicious.

It took some time. Simon came in with some tea, which he set down without a word, while Ceallach leafed through the folder. "Adequate," he finally said, with a nod. "I may need further information from you. How can I contact you?"

"I can give you my cell number." Saki paused, because this was when a person would normally whip out their own phone to enter it.

"Fine," Ceallach said, pulling out an honest-to-God little black book.

Saki nearly sputtered trying not to laugh; she had to put a hand over her mouth. After a few seconds, she managed to tell him her number with a straight face and a even voice. He wrote it down, oblivious to her amusement. Then he regarded her for a moment before setting a briefcase down on the table. "If your information turns out to be inaccurate, I will be having this back," he said.

She slid it towards her and undid the latch without asking permission in pretty much the exact same manner that he had taken the information packet from her. "Of course." She opened the lid and eyed the contents; when satisfied, she closed it again. "As a bonus, I thought you might be interested in some information I have managed to gather on the Dollars."

Ceallach gave her a look that was mixed interest with caution. "You know quite well that I would be interested."

Saki smiled her sweet smile, wrapped her fingers around the briefcase handle, and set it down next to her. "They are having a meeting soon."

"I assume you know when and where, or else you would not have bothered to bring it to my attention."

"Mmm." Saki fished a pen and a scrap of paper out of her purse, wrote the time, date, and location down and then slid it over to Ceallach.

He studied it. "Are you aware of the purpose of the meeting?"

"My sources say the main point of discussion will be you and the Green Nights."

"Mm," Ceallach said. "I see." He slid the piece of paper into the pocket of his jacket. Though his expression hadn't changed, there was a cold gleam in his eyes. "I did promise a substantial bonus. It seems that you are more than capable of earning money. Is there anything else you desire? You may want to think it over . . . presuming that your information will lead to the Founder, as promised."

"I'll have to consider your offer. As for it leading to the Founder, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. There has, to my understanding, never been a meeting without his physical presence. There are also very strong rumors that the leader of the Yellow Scarves is acting as his bodyguard, given the current situation."

"Ah," Ceallach said. "So this may prove quite interesting."

"Yes, I assumed you would think that." Saki wasn't sure there was much point in staying after this. "But I will put thought into that bonus."

Ceallach seemed to have come to the same conclusions as her. He stood, tucking the folder away under one arm. "Pleasure doing business," he said.

Saki smiled. "Of course."

oOoOo 


	14. Chapter 13

_A/N: I really like Kadota. He's nowhere near as flashy as most of the cast members, but makes up for it in being the only one with an ounce of emotional maturity. =D_

Chapter Thirteen

Since Masaomi wasn't letting Mikado out of his sight, agreeing on a place to meet up before heading to the meeting of the Dollar was unnecessary. They wound up hanging around Mikado's apartment after school, and the teenager grew increasingly nervous and fidgety as the day dragged by. He had purposefully decided to make the meeting fairly late, mostly because he knew a lot of the Dollars had school or jobs and wouldn't be able to make one in the middle of the day.

Anri had tagged along with them after school, although Saki was tucked back away at her own apartment and had faithfully promised not to go within a mile of the proposed meeting place. This was not only to assuage Masaomi's protective instincts; it was also for the simple purpose of keeping her cover story intact. If this went wrong, and they still needed to be able to feed Ceallach false information, it wouldn't do for him to see her with the Dollars.

Even Mikado wasn't able to really concentrate on his homework, and none of them were really hungry for dinner. About an hour before the meeting, Mikado said, "Do you want us to walk you home on the way, Anri-san?"

Anri didn't look up from the math homework she was pretending to concentrate on. "Of course not. I'm going to the meeting."

Mikado hesitated, squirming in his seat. "It might not be safe . . ."

At this, Anri did look up, and pinned him down with a stare. "Might I remind you that I am more than capable of protecting myself? Anyway, I'm in the Dollars. I belong there."

Masaomi was a little startled at Anri's tone. He knew she was right, but she was hardly ever so forceful. He also knew that Mikado could be incredibly stubborn. It was time to disarm things, so he plastered the most overboard expression of wistfulness on his face that he could manage. "Mikado, our little Anri's all grown up and ready to kick ass. How time flies."

Mikado rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "I know that, but . . ."

"Besides, if I didn't go, and something happened to you . . ." Anri was clearly thinking of how she had been walking with Mikado right before he had been abducted by Ceallach's men. "I just don't want that to happen."

"She'll be fine." Masaomi gave a huff. "Hell, she's probably safer than the rest of us."

Now both of them turned and gave him identical unamused looks. "You had better stay safe," Mikado told him.

"And you'd better help me keep Mikado-kun safe," Anri added.

Masaomi leaned away from them. "Whoa, what's with the scary looks?"

Mikado sighed. "He's really oblivious, isn't he."

"Totally," Anri agreed, with a fond little smile.

Masaomi pouted.

Mikado rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go," he said, and with a slight blush, he wrapped an arm around Anri's waist. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Her cheeks immediately flushed pink. "Uhm, no problem," she said.

Masaomi considered whistling, but thought that if he embarrassed them, they'd stop. So he just put his hands behind his head and walked ahead of them. He worked at seeming to be perfectly relaxed, but it was difficult. It wasn't the threat of violence that bothered him, but simply the place they were going. He had hoped to never see this warehouse ever again. He knew it was a logical place to hold this meeting, but so many bad things had happened there. He had nearly been beaten to death there, his gang had been taken over by one of the people he hated most in the world. His gang, which really hadn't been his at all at the time, had nearly caught Anri and who knew what would have happened because he certainly hadn't been in control.

After Masaomi was quiet for more than fifteen consecutive seconds, it became clear to the other two that something was amiss. They exchanged a glance, then took a few extra steps so they could walk side-by-side, with one on each side of him. He blinked and dropped his arms as they fell into step beside him. "What?"

"Nothing," Anri said, grabbing his hand and lacing her fingers through his.

He curled his fingers around hers. "Liar."

"You're brooding," Mikado said. "It's unnatural and we don't like it."

". . . What's unnatural about it? I brood all the time." Which was true, although less since Mikado moved to Ikebukuro.

"Well, we still don't like it," Mikado said firmly.

Masaomi laced his fingers through Mikado's. Then, with a grin, he swung his arms so the three of them were walking along like little kids off on an adventure. Anri laughed and the tense expression on Mikado's face eased somewhat. They managed to keep the levity up until they actually reached the old warehouse. Upon seeing how many people were gathered inside, Mikado nearly went into apoplexy. "Didn't they see the part about how it would be dangerous?" he hissed, having peered through the door and then quickly retreated back into the ally so he could hyperventilate in relative privacy.

Masaomi peered in as well, firmly refusing to remember the last time he had been there. "Oh, they saw. And they eat it for breakfast."

Anri looked in over his head, standing on her tiptoes to be able to see. She nodded. "It looks like everyone who showed up is ready for a fight," she said, which was true. Though the turnout was fairly generous, it was predominantly male, and almost entirely made up of people between eighteen and thirty. A lot of them looked, to put it kindly, like thugs. There was a smattering of yellow scarves through the group, but no other consistent splashes of color.

"I guess," Mikado said, rather reluctantly.

Masaomi bumped his shoulder. "They all know what they're getting into. Come on."

Mikado took a deep breath, suddenly nervous. He had called a meeting of the Dollars before, but that was back before anybody knew who he was. He had been just another face in the crowd, then, and he certainly hadn't been expected to _say_ anything. This, he knew, was different. As soon as he walked into that warehouse, everything was going to change.

Masaomi looked Mikado straight in the eye. "You'll do fine. You aren't alone."

After a few moments, Mikado nodded. He took a deep breath. His hand was on the handle of the door when a voice behind him called out, "Hey, it's Taichou!" It made him jump, as he spun around to see Kadota and his friends approaching, with Karisawa waving cheerfully.

He managed a startled greeting, then nodded to Kadota. "Thanks for helping me set this up."

Kadota grinned and laced his hands behind his head. "I hate to tell you this, Taichou, but I didn't do a damned thing."

Mikado blinked. "What?"

"Seriously," Kadota said, "not a thing."

"All grown up!" Masaomi joked.

Mikado blinked at the warehouse. "They all came into a dangerous situation like this . . . just because I asked them to?"

"Got it in one," Kadota told him.

"But you aren't allowed to get all weird and feel guilty about," Masaomi said firmly.

"I just don't get it," Mikado said, frustration coloring his voice despite his best efforts. "It doesn't make any sense. None of this makes any sense! There's no reason for any of you to call me Taichou or give me fancy phones or follow my orders. I just . . . it doesn't make sense and I hate things that don't make sense."

Kadota sighed and tucked his hands behind his head, leaning against the warehouse wall. "It's not that complicated. You just overthink things. You formed the Dollars. That's why we're here."

"But it wasn't a big deal," Mikado argued. "Everyone treats it like it is, but it wasn't. It was a joke. We were just playing around. Anybody could have done what I did."

"Anybody could have," Kadota said, with a nod of agreement, "but nobody did. Except you."

"It wasn't that special," Mikado said.

"It wasn't that _difficult_," Kadota corrected, "but it _was_ that special, at least to the people standing in this room. You gave these people a place to belong. We're all different types of people, but we're all outcasts in one form or another, or we wouldn't have joined the Dollars to begin with. You took all these people who had nowhere to go and said 'come join my group, I won't give you orders, I won't ask your real name, I just want you to be part of something'. You did it because _you_ didn't have a place that you felt you belonged. So we're all kindred spirits, in a way."

Mikado was quiet for a minute. "It wasn't my intention," he said.

"Here's something to remember, Taichou – no one in that room gives a damn about your intentions. All they care about is the outcome. And this," Kadota waved a hand to encompass the warehouse, "this is the outcome. Think about who you've got in this group. Shizuo, Izaya, Celty. Do you have any idea what would happen if one of them tried to join a color gang?"

At this, Mikado looked up, applying logic to the question. "It would throw everything off," he said. "The group would be too powerful."

"Exactly. Color gangs . . ." Kadota shook his head. "A lot of what they are is tied up in how they appear. Think about when the Blue Squares got into it with the Yellow Scarves. Do you know how that actually got started?"

"No," Mikado said. He gave Masaomi a sidelong glance, seeing his friend stiffen, but the teenager kept his mouth shut, sensing that Kadota was making some progress talking sense into Mikado. "Masaomi doesn't really talk about it."

"Well, he probably doesn't know either. Neither do I. I don't think anything really did happen to get it started. I think the Blue Squares just felt threatened by the existence of another color gang near their territory. So think about that – that a bunch of adults felt so threatened by a group of junior high school students that they felt the need to try to pound them into the ground – then try to imagine what would happen if somebody like Shizuo tied a yellow scarf on." Kadota shrugged. "To be fair to the Squares, if we have any interest in being fair, it probably would have blown over if Izaya hadn't been behind the scenes, fanning the flames."

"Or a bunch of the Scarves would have wound up in the hospital," Mikado said.

"Probably not. Izumii was a bastard, I won't argue that, but all he really wanted was to prove that he was superior. He might have roughed up a couple people and then let it go. What really pissed him off was that the Scarves were winning, and it was Izaya that was helping them do that." Kadota waved a hand. "I got sidetracked. My point is that people like Shizuo, even people like me after that whole thing, can't really join gangs like that anymore. But that doesn't mean we don't want to."

"But everyone knows that Celty and Shizuo are in the Dollars," Mikado pointed out.

"But the Dollars aren't a color gang. So it's okay."

Mikado huffed out a breath. "It still doesn't make any sense."

Kadota clapped him on the back. "Like I said: you overthink things. You gave us a place to go without asking anything in return. You gave us a family of sorts, as corny as that sounds. We're grateful, no matter what your intentions were. You don't have to understand it. Just accept it."

"I'll try," Mikado said.

Masaomi raised an eyebrow. "You ready?"

"No. Uh, yes." Mikado let out a breath, put his hand on the door, and pushed it open.

oOoOo

In the interest of meeting in a neutral location that hopefully would result in both Shizuo and Izaya actually showing up for this endeavor, Celty texted them both a message asking to meet at the park about an hour before the meeting of the Dollars was scheduled. Since they had both gotten Mikado's mass text (though odds were only fifty/fifty that Shizuo had actually read it), she presumed that they both knew approximately what was going on, and didn't include much detail.

Neither of them were there when she arrived. This didn't bother her; she assumed that disaster would fall if both of them beat her there and were left alone together, so she was about ten minutes early. She settled down to wait. Izaya showed up first, skipping along as blithely as a first-grader on a field trip. He greeted her with his usual smirk.

'I see you and Shizuo didn't manage to actually maim each other,' Celty said from where she had settled comfortably on her favorite bench.

"Not for any lack of trying," Izaya said, without a speck of remorse.

'You two make me tired.'

Shizuo strolled up then, hands in his pockets and a lit cigarette between his lips. He stopped in front of them and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Izaya-kun." It came out as growl. "Celty." His tone was much more pleasant.

"Heh. Why bother to greet me at all, if you're going to be like that?" Izaya asked, tucking his hands into his pockets, where one was undoubtedly resting on his switchblade.

Celty promptly stood up between the two of them. 'There needs to be a cease fire for the next couple of hours.'

Izaya shrugged. "You know as well as we do that even if we promise, ten minutes from now we'll just be at each other's throats again. Why bother pretending?"

'Because I need you to try.'

Shizuo sighed and put his cigarette back between his lips, then turned partly away. Not looking squarely at Izaya would help him keep his temper. After a long pause, Izaya shrugged again and took his hands out of his pockets.

Celty considered this. 'Good enough. In about an hour or so we need to go get that Mask. To do that, you'll have to work together.'

"Which is great, since we don't even know what we're doing," Izaya pointed out. "I guess we're just going to go down there and wait to be shown the light or something. Together." A beat. "Can't imagine a better way to spend my evening."

Shizuo started to make a disgruntled noise, but cut himself off. Celty needed them to not fight. "What's going to happen to the Mask after we get it?" He thought that was much nicer than what he wanted to say, which was, 'How do you plan to keep it away from Izaya?'

'I'll put it somewhere safe until I can find the real owner.'

"Nice of you to decide that all on your own," Izaya said, giving a languorous stretch and then tucking his hands behind his head. "You two don't trust me, is that it? I thought we all had to trust each other to get the Mask in the first place."

'To be fair?' Celty typed rapidly. 'I don't trust anyone. Including myself. That's why I want it gone. I would destroy it if I could.'

"But Shizu-chan wasn't talking about you," Izaya said, his cold gaze staying fixed on the blonde. "Shizu-chan was talking about me."

Celty sat down and patted the bench next to her. She couldn't help but think that Izaya's feelings might be hurt. Just a little. She also couldn't fault Shizuo's logic. 'Yes, but I bet if asked he wouldn't want anyone having it. And you are the person who most loves to have information.' She thought Mikado and Saki would be tied for runner up. 'I think most of us would take advantage. Even me.'

"What do you say, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked. "You think I'm stupid enough to try to ask the magic mirror who's the fairest of them all? Maybe I'd get an answer before it sucked my soul out."

"Tch." The cigarette was stubbed out on the bottom of his shoe. "I never thought you were stupid enough to wear it."

"Oh, so you think I'm enough of a bastard to make somebody else wear it."

"Yes," Shizuo answered, and paced over to the near by trash can to throw away the cigarette butt.

Izaya gave him a long stare. Then nodded. "Yeah. I kinda think so, too. Fortunately for you and the good of mankind, easy answers aren't my gig. It wouldn't be any fun if I could just _know_ everything. The fun is finding things out, making trades, going digging. I thought about it a lot since we found out about the Mask. I might use it in an emergency, but to tell the truth I don't really want it long-term."

They were both a little startled by Izaya's honesty. "Huh." Shizuo gave this some deliberate thought. Since he couldn't come up with a legitimate argument, he kept his mouth shut.

'It doesn't matter in the end,' Celty told them. 'I'm going to get rid of it as soon as I can. Because when that kind of power is available, ones' idea of 'emergency' tends to change.' That was the problem with power.

"Fair enough," Izaya said. With a nod to Celty and then, grudgingly, one to Shizuo, he said, "Shall we go?"

Shizuo pulled out and lit another cigarette. He thought he was going to be chain smoking them until this was over. He nodded.

Celty stood. 'Thank you. Both of you.'

The walk to the subway station passed in silence. Both Izaya and Shizuo seemed to have agreed that they got along better when they kept their mouths shut. The streets were fairly quiet, but they took back alleys whenever they could, to avoid the gawking stares that the three of them as a group were sure to get. By the time they reached the entrance to the subway station, it was about fifteen minutes before the meeting of the Dollars was due to start.

'We'll have to wait and then be very careful,' Celty said. 'He'll most likely gate there, so we won't see anyone leave.'

"If he's going to gate, then they won't leave by the door," Izaya pointed out, "so it would be safe to sneak down the stairs until we can hear what's going on."

'Fair point.' She held out her hand and her scythe materialized, because there was no point in not being fully armed. Then she opened the door slowly. Izaya shrugged out of the glamour, knowing that his hearing would be better in his fae form. Then he arched his eyebrows at Shizuo, as if to ask why he couldn't do the same. He was smart enough not to ask the question out loud now that the door was open, but he did find himself curious.

"I'm fine the way I am," Shizuo said in a very low whisper. He did take a second to note the differences in Izaya. The pointed ears, the slight gain in height, and the fact that even though he seemed a little bit more slim, which should have made him seem almost fragile, he actually looked more dangerous.

Izaya smirked at him but did not reply, staying on Celty's heels as they descended the narrow staircase. Though he never would have admitted it out loud in a thousand years, he was a little nervous. The first time he had come here, it hadn't gone well for him. He wasn't looking forward to revisiting that incident.

When they neared the bottom, Celty held out a hand to stop both the men. She didn't hear as much noise as she had expected she would, so after a moment she took off the helmet and held it out for one of them to take. Shizuo grabbed it before Izaya could, which made Izaya let out a quiet little snicker.

She gave a smoky sigh and then eased down the rest of the staircase, pressed to the wall. When she reached the bottom she intended to carefully look around the corner. Sometimes there were advantages to having no head. But when she tried, she hit the wards and felt them pull at her uncomfortably. She crept back up the stairs. 'I forgot about those damned wards.'

"Let me look," Izaya said, easing past her. He didn't wait to hear any assent from the other two, but peeked around the corner quickly, then went back several stairs to where the others were standing. "Only four or five guys still there. The rest must have left already."

"What did I miss?" Shizuo asked, perplexed.

'There are wards, a magical barrier, on the door. It saps power.' She wiped the screen clean. 'Not too bad for Izaya, but not so good for you and very bad for me.'

"Well, to be fair, it's not like I want to go all the way through them," Izaya muttered. "But I figured a quick look would be okay. Since they already seem to have left, I guess we're good to go."

Celty felt a slight shiver. 'I don't know what it would do to me. I can't believe I forgot about them.'

"What would happen to me?" Shizuo asked quietly.

'You'd be about as strong and durable as a normal human. Something you haven't felt for years.'

Izaya laughed. "Now that would be a sight to see," he said, and stepped down to the bottom stair. After a few moments, he drew a symbol with one finger and then started plucking at the air, as if he were pulling strings out of a weave. "Fortunately," he said, still in an undertone, "some of us didn't forget, and some of us didn't want to get stuck here again, so some of us thought ahead."

Celty took her helmet back from Shizuo and put it back on. She didn't need the Nights knowing her head wasn't with her. She moved to stand near Izaya. 'Some of us are far too smug.' After a moment of watching him, she added, 'But I am impressed, and thank you.'

"Thank me when we see whether or not it'll work," Izaya said, though he was still paying attention to what he was doing, as well as keeping a sharp eye on the few fae that had been left behind, all of whom were involved in what looked like a dice game. "I read about it on the internet and I managed to build and take down my own, but that's a far cry from what I'm trying to do here."

Celty remained silent and Shizuo peered over the top of both of them to see whatever it was that he could see. It was only a few more moments before Izaya stuck his hand through the empty space, then grinned and gestured to the large underground room. He had his mouth open to say 'ladies first', but then a sentry walked out of one of the other tunnels and began to observe the dice game. Izaya stiffened. "That little prick is wearing my jacket."

Shizuo and Celty looked at each other and then wordlessly stepped out of Izaya's way.

"I'll be right back," Izaya said, sauntering into the subway station with both hands in his pockets.

oOoOo 


	15. Chapter 14

_A/N: Actiony chapter has action!_

Chapter Fourteen

A teenager near the door of the warehouse crowed, "Taichou!" He was clearly pleased to be the first to spot their founder. There was a momentary ruckus, after which quiet spread back through the crowd as they all became aware of the meeting officially starting.

Masaomi stayed close enough to touch Mikado but also a little behind him. This wasn't his show. Anri flanked him on the other side, and Kadota and the others filtered through the crowd to find their own places. Feeling quite uncomfortable, Mikado climbed up onto the platform at the front of the crowd, with a quick glance at Masaomi to make sure this was okay. Without any idea of when Ceallach would actually show up – was he here already? Had he arrived early to lie in wait and pounce the second Mikado showed up? Or would he wait until the meeting had been going on for some time to make sure that everybody had arrived? – he had to conduct the meeting as if it were a regular meeting. Not that he knew what one of those would be like.

"Uh, hi everybody," he said, and felt lame. His palms were sweating, and he didn't think it was just because he was waiting for Ceallach and his thugs to show up. "Thanks for coming."

This gained him varying greetings. Most just nodded, though some smartass in the back yelled out "You're welcome, Taichou!"

Mikado scanned the crowd and then found himself grinning. The smartassery reminded him of Masaomi, and what the Dollars were all about. He found himself loosening up slightly. "So, since you're here, I'm going to assume you got my e-mail and you all know the basics of what's going on. There are a couple reasons I wanted to hold this meeting. Some of them were covered in my e-mail, but there's one I wanted to tell you face to face.

"I know that we're all very different people, and that everyone here has their own reasons for joining the Dollars, just like I had my own reasons for creating it. The fact that so many of you showed up here tonight is awesome – but it also makes me want to put a warning on the table. This Ceallach guy thinks that if he can control me, he could control the Dollars. He threatened to hurt me if you guys wouldn't do what I told you to do.

"Well, tonight I'm here to say that that's bullshit." Mikado was speaking more energetically now, warming to his topic. "You guys aren't a bunch of mindless drones. You're capable of making your own decisions. So I just want to make it clear, once and for all, that I never expect you guys to follow my orders. You showed up tonight because _you_ wanted to, not because I asked you to. That's the spirit we have to keep up. And if some asshole wants to kidnap me to make you do what he wants, won't that just be a kick in the ass for him?

"Because Ceallach doesn't get it. He thinks the autonomy makes us weak. He compared us to a cockroach, saying we could survive without a head. And you know what? I take that as a compliment. Cockroaches are going to be around on earth long after we humans are gone, because they're tough as hell. If Ceallach thinks that the way we run is going to make us easy to beat, he isn't going to last another two days in Ikebukuro. We're going to kick his ass all the way back to whatever alternative universe he's from, and he isn't going to dare show his face in public for the next year while he licks the wounds we gave him!"

Masaomi grinned and shared a look with Anri behind Mikado's back. Anri smiled back, not quite a grin but still an unusual show of emotion.

From the crowd there is a beat of silence and then a cheer.

"And I – " Mikado began, but before he could finish his sentence, Ceallach showed up and all hell broke loose. It wasn't anything flashy; the door didn't open and there was no noise. They came in through a gate, so one minute they weren't there and the next they were.

Masaomi immediately pulled Mikado behind him, his eyes darting to the crowd closest to the platform. Just like he was hoping, there were several of his own people right there. One of them called out, "Shogun, catch!" and tossed a crowbar up to him. He snatched it out of the air and turned to face the first of Ceallach's people. Anri calmly turned to guard Mikado's other side, pulling out Saika. It might not have been made out of iron, but she challenged any of them to fight off the effects of the possessed blade.

Several of Ceallach's people seemed willing to take her challenge. One man with sword of his own squared off with Anri, while another who was holding a rather nasty looking knife and sporting an even nastier looking burn mark along his jaw went for Masaomi. Mikado stood awkwardly sandwiched between the two of them; there wasn't anywhere he could go for cover, though he looked around in an effort to find somewhere to duck into.

Anri met her attacker head-on, had him disarmed in two moves, and in the third slashed a sizable wound into his bicep. Her eyes took on the eerie red glow, but there was no reaction from the fae, and Anri winced as Saika began shrieking about the nonhuman monster she had just cut into. Involuntarily, she took a step backwards, and the fae pressed forward. She might have fallen had someone in the melee not thrown a hunk of wrought iron that looked like it had once been part of someone's fence. It struck her attacker in the side of the head, and he collapsed, falling off the platform.

Masaomi saw the burn on his opponent's face and grinned. "Glad you could make it. Let me finish what I started the other day." With that, he took a two handed grip on his crowbar and swung.

Ceallach and his men might not have been expecting a small army of thugs with crowbars, but they _were_ prepared for Masaomi. The fae that attacked him was wearing heavy leather gauntlets. He deflected the blow with his arm and struck forward with his knife.

"Shit!" Masaomi yelped as he twisted to the side. He managed to dodge most of the strike, only the tip catching him and even then the heavy material of his sweatshirt took most of the damage. He shifted his grip on the crowbar and swung again, this time with the hooked end aiming for what ever he could hit. He hoped that the edge would go through the guy's clothes. It struck him in the abdomen and he let out a grunt, staggering backwards. Masaomi wasted no time in taking a hard swing at the man's head. He hit him squarely upside the jaw, almost exactly where the first scar was, and he went down hard.

Less than a second later, Masaomi scanned for some sort of protection for Mikado. All that was available was the battered old sofa he had used to sit on while holding meetings. He kicked it hard, intending to back it up to the wall. Before he could shove Mikado into the space behind it, three more of the fae jumped up onto the makeshift stage. Saika flashed through the air like quicksilver, taking down two and leaving the third for Masaomi.

They all seemed to be ready for the crowbar, so he took a chance and pulled his switchblade out of his pocket. He left it closed until the last second and then triggered it as he lunged forward. The fae deflected with a knife of his own and grabbed him by the wrist. Masaomi leapt back, trying to pull free, even though he could feel the bones in his wrist grind together under the tight grip.

Mikado took a hesitant step forward, then decided that there was wisdom in the phrase 'discretion is the better part of valor'. Since Masaomi had obviously intended he get his ass behind the couch where he would be in less danger, he headed there instead. He had just drawn even with the couch when he felt a ripple of air beside him, like a breeze. A hole opened in the world, and he watched the gate appear in stunned fascination as Ceallach stepped out right next to him.

"Mikado-kun!" Anri darted through the crowd of fae as Ceallach grabbed the other teenager by the arm.

Masaomi's head whipped around, looking for Mikado as soon as he heard Anri shout. When he saw Ceallach holding him, he pulled even harder against the grip on his wrist. "Let him go, you bastard!"

Ceallach didn't waste any time in replying. A quick gaze around the room revealed that his forces were outnumbered, and it wouldn't be long before at least a dozen Dollars managed to get up onto the stage. With his free hand, he flicked two fingers at Anri. A rush of wind left them, knocking her back several paces and sending her sprawling. With a rather toothy smile at Masaomi, Ceallach stepped through the gate.

Mikado tried to squirm free at the last minute, throwing his entire weight against Ceallach's grip. One arm stretched out towards Masaomi as Ceallach dragged him through.

Masaomi pulled against the person holding him hard enough to feel the strain in his wrist, elbow, and shoulder as his joint started to give under the force. The fingers of his other hand brushed Mikado's and then grabbed on tightly. He was pulled out of the grip of the fae holding him captive by Ceallach's superior strength as the leader of the Nights yanked Mikado through the doorway he had made.

Anri scrambled to her feet just in time to see them both disappear through the gate.

oOoOo

Less than two minutes after Izaya's entrance, all six of the fae that had been left behind were on the ground in a variety of disarray. One was moaning, but the rest were unconscious and bleeding from a multitude of places. Izaya casually walked over and picked up the arm of the one who had taken his jacket, shaking him out of it and letting him drop back to the floor. Then he shrugged back into it, putting his knife in his pocket just where it belonged and feeling a thousand times better about everything.

'Did you have fun?' Celty asked, as she bent and started using shadows to bind hands and feet.

"Am I that obvious?" Izaya asked, then added, "Thanks for letting me handle it." He might have even included Shizuo in the statement.

Shizuo might have noticed and given a nod of acknowledgement.

'No problem.' Celty looked around, hoping for a clue.

Izaya watched her for a few moments, then turned and addressed the room at large. "Okay, here I am, I brought the troll and everything. Let's see the prize."

Shizuo tensed and his fist clenched, automatically ready to take a shot at Izaya. Then he forced himself to take a deep, calming breath and uncurled his hand. He stepped up next to Izaya. "I even came of my own free will."

They both blinked at each other.

"Right, then," Izaya said, and headed for one of the archways that led deeper into the abandoned station.

Celty hurried after them. 'What?'

"It's over here," Izaya said. "I just sort of . . . knew that. You too, right, Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo told himself firmly that this was not the time to be cranky over that ridiculous nickname. "He's right."

Izaya stopped and examined the archway, then pointed. "Up there. Lemme stand on your shoulders."

Shizuo snorted and then held out his hands. "No need to ruin the clothes." He was more than strong enough to just hold Izaya up. Izaya opened his mouth to make some sort of commentary about Shizuo's infatuation with his bartender uniform, but then decided that since Shizuo would shortly be holding him about eight foot off the ground, this might not be the next time. He stepped into Shizuo's hands and let the blonde lift him up. Shizuo did, moving slowly enough to let Izaya keep his balance. It wasn't hard. Izaya didn't even weigh a fourth of a vending machine.

Celty watched silently and actually felt a little bit proud of them both for not killing each other.

Izaya grabbed the narrow ledge of the archway and pulled himself up onto it, pressing his back into the wall, balancing easily even though it was barely an inch wide. He looked around, eyes scanning the different structures around, before settling on a thick column with some decorative carving near the top. He took a moment to enjoy the view; this station, somewhat lost in time, looked so different from the neat, modern ones they had now. "Well, Shizu-chan, if nothing else, you may get to see me fall on my face before we get the damned thing."

Celty considered offering to help, but something told her it was against the rules.

"Can I just not comment on that?" Shizuo asked.

"You could say something useful like 'I'll break your fall so you don't break your neck,'" Izaya said, gathering himself to make the jump.

"Would you believe me?"

"Let's find out," Izaya said, and jumped. He grabbed the decorative outcropping and hung up with one hand, swinging there for a few moment. The other hand scrabbled around on the top of the column. "Shit," he finally said. "There's a box here, but it's too heavy for me to move one-handed."

Shizuo looked up at him for another second. "Just . . . don't fall." With that, he turned away and went to the center of the station, where he took a good look around. After a moment, he made his way over to an old ticket booth. The station was old enough that tickets were still sold by an actual person instead of by machine. He examined it, then grabbed hold of the frame and gave a solid heave. It creaked and groaned but gave way at the second pull. Shizuo half carried, half dragged it over to the pillar Izaya was hanging from and set it down. Then he promptly scrambled up on top of it. He was almost close enough so he raised his arms above his head, the flat of his palm facing up. "Here."

"Ah, thanks," Izaya said, too busy to think about taunting him. He put his feet on Shizuo's hands, gingerly letting him take his weight, and when nothing horrible happened, letting go of the outcropping and grabbing for the box with both hands. He let out a slight grunt as he pulled it towards himself. "This thing weighs a solid ton. I should've let you be on top."

Celty suddenly turned away, her shoulders shaking.

Shizuo snorted. "I can hold you and the box; I don't think you could say the same."

"True." Izaya got it off the top of the column with one last heave. "Now what?"

There was a brief pause. "Don't scream," Shizuo said, and that was all the warning he gave before he gave Izaya a little toss and then caught him around the waist as he fell. Shizuo then set him on his feet next to him on the roof of the ticket booth.

Izaya, who thankfully had not screamed (there may have been a surprised gasp), turned and said, "I was just going to drop the box."

"And risk damaging it?"

Celty, meanwhile, was trying not to die from withholding the impulse to, somehow, squee.

"Celty already said she _couldn't_ destroy it. I'm pretty sure dropping it from fifteen feet up wouldn't do a damned thing." Izaya smirked. "But thanks all the same, Shizu-chan."

"If it's too heavy for you to handle one-handed, there has to be more to it than just the Mask inside." Shizuo gave him a dry look. "You're welcome." With that, he jumped down from the roof.

Izaya tossed the box down to him. "I just figured it was heavy so it would take two of us to get it down." Shizuo caught the box neatly, held it in one hand, and opened it with the other. Or at least he tried to open it. It didn't budge, though he didn't see any locks. Izaya jumped down next to him. "I guess we have to open it together," he said, taking hold of the lid opposite from Shizuo.

It seemed like a logical conclusion to Shizuo, so he lifted his side of the lid. Celty moved close to look between them.

The Mercurial Mask lay on a neat bed of velvet. It was much more simple than any of them had imagined. It was shaped like a Venetian half-mask, a Columbina, but without any of the typical adornments. The surface was a pool of silver, like a mirror, always shifting and never still. Even lying in the box, it seemed to radiate an aura of power.

"Damn," Izaya breathed out, impressed despite himself.

Shizuo looked down on it and shivered. "I can almost hear it. It's cold."

"Yeah," Izaya said.

Celty nodded in agreement, reached between them with one hand and carefully pulled the lid closed.

Izaya looked around as one of the unconscious sentries stirred and let out a groan. "We should go," he said. The other two nodded. Shizuo tucked the box under his arm and Celty led the way to the stairs.

oOoOo

Masaomi stumbled forward once there was no more resistance. He went through the gate and then tumbled into Mikado. Ceallach let them both go, and they wound up in a heap on the floor in the abandoned subway station. The gate closed behind them, and almost immediately, a dozen more opened as the rest of his men came back from the warehouse now that their goal had been accomplished. Masaomi rolled to his feet, standing protectively over Mikado.

Ceallach laughed. "Look at the gallant little cat, still hissing and spitting even when it's obvious he's lost." He gestured to some of his men. "Take him." Before Masaomi could react, one of the larger fae – not a Sidhe, he thought, maybe a troll like Shizuo? – grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides so he couldn't use either the crowbar or the knife. Mikado scrambled to his feet but was just as quickly forced back down.

Masaomi tossed his head up to glare at Ceallach but something else caught his attention: namely, the several unconscious fae littering the area. It was sure proof that the others had come, gotten the Mask, and left. The glare turned into a broad, smug grin. "Oh, you might kill me, but we certainly haven't lost." A beat. "Jackass."

Mikado let out a little snicker despite himself.

For a moment, Ceallach just looked blank. Then he looked where Masaomi was looking and saw his sentries, bloody and beaten and quite possibly dead. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to one of the other fae and began snapping out commands in a language that neither teenager knew. The meaning was clear, however, as the fae jumped to attention and began to search the subway station.

Masaomi snorted derisively, but didn't say anything else. Before much time had passed, it became obvious to Ceallach that nobody was still there. He waved his men off, except for the ones still holding onto the teenagers, and turned to them. "So. You used yourselves as a decoy. Not bad. More courage than one usually sees in humans. Of course, courage and stupidity are often close cousins."

Mikado opened his mouth. He couldn't help it. Even pinned to the floor and aware that they were in serious trouble and he should keep his mouth shut, he just couldn't stop himself. "You really like to hear yourself talk, don't you."

"Just treat him the way you would Yumasaki and Karisawa. Pretend it's meaningless and tune it out."

Surprisingly, Ceallach did not lose his temper at their commentary, nor did he respond to it. "Since that was obviously your purpose, one can assume you know whatever clever thief came in here to take my prize. Now I have quite a dilemma. Which one of you should I torture, in order to make the other one talk? It's very difficult to choose. I'm sure you understand."

Masaomi just heaved a sigh, like he was tired. Inside, he was considering having a quiet freak out. They were in very big trouble.

Ceallach considered in silence for a few moments, then gestured to the fae that were holding Mikado down. "Let him up," he said. They backed off. Mikado got back to his feet, looking around the subway station for possible exits, though he knew it was hopeless. He also knew he wasn't going anywhere without Masaomi, and damn the consequences.

"I'll tell you right now that we don't know where the Mask was taken," he said, hoping that Ceallach would believe him. He had a pretty good idea – it was safe to assume that they would bring it back to Shinra's apartment until a decision had been made about what to do with the damned thing – but he didn't _know_.

"Is that so?" Ceallach reached out and grabbed Mikado underneath the chin, lifting him into the air. Mikado made a choked little noise as his feet left the ground, and he kicked for purchase involuntarily. "I really don't think I believe you."

Masaomi lunged forward, and when that didn't budge him an inch, he picked up his leg, bent his knee and drove the heel of his boot into the shin of the person holding him. The troll let out a grunt but didn't otherwise react.

"Oh, look, he's angry now," Ceallach said, unmistakable amusement in his voice. Mikado reached up with both hands and began to try to pry Ceallach's fingers loose, to no avail. "I know, you can't make any more quips and quirks with my hand around your throat," Ceallach added, his voice dripping mock sympathy. "That's a terrible shame. It'll be up to your friend here to tell me what I need to know before – "

With the last of his air, Mikado snarled out, "Cockroach _this_," and spit in Ceallach's face. The Sidhe let out a shout and released him, letting him fall to the ground in a heap.

Masaomi grinned and then slammed his heel into the same spot a second time. If it hurt the first time, it had to be worse this time, right? This time the troll responded with a low growl, and began to tighten his grip on the teenager, squeezing him hard enough to be quite painful. Mikado scrambled to his feet and threw himself onto the troll's back, trying to make him let go, but stayed there for only a moment before Ceallach grabbed him by the back of the shirt and threw him back down to the floor, this time hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Masaomi let out a rather unmanly squeak.

"Let's try this again," Ceallach said, the anger clear from his tone as he wiped his face off with one hand and placed his foot on Mikado's stomach to keep him from getting up again. He looked straight at Masaomi. "You're going to tell me where my Mask is." He punctuated this with a brutal kick to Mikado's ribs. "In less than two minutes, I can hurt this child beyond any point of repair. And believe me, I would be happy to do so. You can stop his pain at any time by telling me what I want to know. Is that perfectly clear?"

Masaomi's expression went completely blank and instead of looking at Ceallach, he looked down at Mikado. He knew he was going to give in. Mikado had curled up on his side to protect his stomach, his eyes tightly shut. Ceallach waited for an immediate answer, and when he didn't get one, shrugged, reached down, and grabbed Mikado by the wrist. Mikado let out a slight noise as Ceallach lifted him off the ground. "Do you have any idea how easy it is to dislocate an arm when it's recently been dislocated?" Ceallach asked, in a conversational tone. "Give me a few moments and I could probably pull it right off, like a wing off a fly."

"Put him down and I'll tell you. Or at least give you my best guess." The look that Masaomi turned on Ceallach pretty much promised that he would be gunned down in a dark alley very soon.

Ceallach released Mikado's wrist without ceremony, letting him fall the few inches back to the concrete floor. He put his foot back on Mikado's stomach. "Talk."

Masaomi hoped Celty and the others would forgive him, and that Izaya didn't ruin him too badly. Lying would only get Mikado killed. Right about then, Masaomi remembered all the things Celty had told them about fae. "Promise you won't hurt Mikado anymore."

Ceallach arched his eyebrows at him and then laughed. "Now the little cat will try to be clever." He delivered another sharp kick to Mikado's ribs. "That's not going to happen."

"I fucking hate you. It's most likely at Celty's." Ceallach didn't know about Shinra and the longer that lasted, the better.

"And who, exactly, is Celty?"

"The Black Biker. Who isn't going to be happy with you."

"Ah, the dullahan," Ceallach said, ignoring Masaomi's second statement entirely. "I've been trying to find her. Such a unique magical presence should stand out even in this town, but I haven't been able to. I presume she keeps her own residence sensibly warded. You will take me there."

There was a pause. "What the hell, why not." The asshole could get a face full of Shizuo and Izaya while he was at it. This was such a mess anyway. He would just have to face down the consequences when it was all over, no matter how ugly they were likely to be. It would be worth it to keep Mikado safe.

As if reading his thoughts, Ceallach grabbed Mikado by the back of the shirt and hauled him to his feet. "We'll bring him along too," he said, sounding rather cheerful about the idea. Mikado's gaze flickered to Masaomi, and then he looked back down at the floor. "To ensure your good behavior along the way."

After a moment, Masaomi nodded. It wasn't as good as Ceallach letting Mikado go, but better than separating the two of them and leaving Mikado behind, so Masaomi didn't argue.

"Well, then," Ceallach said, and gestured to the troll who had been holding Masaomi during all this time. He let go and backed away. "Shall we go?"

"Sure. It'll be like a party. You know, one filled with death and pissed off headless women."

The troll shoved him forward, towards the archway that led to the staircase. Several of the other fae joined them. Ceallach kept a hold on Mikado, marching the other teenager along with his wrist in a vise grip. Mikado was still staring at the floor, but as they reached the street, his gaze darted over to Masaomi, and he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Me too." Masaomi's reply was just as quiet.

oOoOo


	16. Chapter 15

_A/N: I am super excited __and nervous__ about this chapter. Comments would be very much appreciated!_

Chapter Fifteen

Anri ran for the gate as it closed, but it was gone before she got there, and she nearly hit the metal wall of the warehouse behind it. Abruptly, the warehouse fell silent as the rest of Ceallach's men departed. Many of the Dollars were left gasping for breath; at least a dozen were on the ground, unmoving. Anri barely noticed as she grabbed her phone, though she wasn't sure of who she would call.

It fell into her hand, oddly warm. She flipped it open, but the screen was blank. She jabbed the power button with her thumb. Nothing happened, so she jabbed it again.

Kadota hauled himself up onto the platform next to her. "Where did they go?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, trying to stay calm and think. Ceallach didn't know the meeting was just a decoy, so odds were good that he would have just taken Mikado and Masaomi back to his hideout. Part of her hoped that Celty and the others had come and gone and retrieved the Mask. Another part of her hoped that they were still there and could stage some sort of rescue. She shook her phone in frustration. "My phone's not working."

Kadota took his out of his pocket and took a look. The screen was blank, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get anything to come up on it. "Mine isn't either."

Anri took a deep breath. "Some kind of magic, maybe."

"There won't be a pay phone or a shop around here that we can use one," Kadota said, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "But if you've got an idea about where they might have gone, I can take you."

Anri opened her mouth to agree, then looked around. Some of the Dollars were obviously hurt, in some cases it might be serious. Having fought against Ceallach's men, she could now say for certain that they were no pushovers. Confronting them on their own ground would be a bad idea. "No," she said, reluctantly. "Let's get these people taken care of first."

Kadota gave her a look that was vaguely surprised, but then nodded. "Okay," he said. He shrugged one shoulder and said, "Taichou's got Kida with him, so they'll probably be okay for a little while. As soon as we get to the hospital, we can borrow the phone and call Celty or somebody to see if she can give us a hand."

Anri nodded and began to jog over to the closest person lying on the floor. "Let's hurry," she said, and Kadota nodded agreement.

oOoOo

They had been walking for maybe five minutes when Masaomi suddenly stopped. He only budged a little when the troll gave him another shove from behind. "No. Wait." His eyes skipped over to Mikado, who wasn't looking good at all, with one arm pressed over his ribs, his breathing starting to come in short, sharp little gasps.

Ceallach looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What is it?"

Masaomi glared at him. "This isn't a short walk. Can't you make one of your magic doorways or something? Because Mikado can't walk that far. And I promise you, if he dies you'll get _nothing_ from me."

"I'll be fine," Mikado said, wheezing slightly.

Ceallach gave him a piercing look, and then seemed to agree far more with Masaomi's assessment of the situation. "I can't gate somewhere I've never been."

Masaomi reached out, snagged Mikado's free hand, and squeezed. "Don't be stupid." Neither of them were exactly fit. Masaomi's wrenched arm burned at every joint and he thought he might have pulled some stitches, but at least he could breathe. Mikado was definitely the worse of the two this time. He thought about Ceallach's limitations. "You've been to Russia Sushi. That's pretty close to Celty's place."

"I find it interesting that you know that I've been there," Ceallach said, giving him a hard stare.

"Good for you."

After a moment, Ceallach shook his head, with a quiet, mirthless smile. "Of course. The girl. How else could you ensure that I would show up to your little decoy meeting if you didn't send someone to tell me about it?"

Masaomi shook his head a little. "Can you make the damned doorway or not?"

"You know," Ceallach said, "under other circumstances, I might have liked you." He shoved Mikado over to one of his other men; Mikado stumbled slightly but managed to stay on his feet, gritting his teeth so he didn't make any noise. Ceallach drew a square in the air, and the doorway appeared. Several of his men stepped through, then the troll prodded Masaomi through the opening. Ceallach took Mikado's arm and pulled him through afterwards.

Masaomi turned to make sure that Mikado was okay, or at least as okay as he could be. Mikado gave him a weak nod in return, still holding his arm over his abdomen. "Yeah, well, I might not have hated you if you had bothered to figure out how Ikebukuro worked, and bothered to play by her rules. But you didn't, and here we are."

"Live as long as I do, and you'll find it's typically easiest to just do things your own way," Ceallach said. "Though I don't expect that'll be a problem. Walk."

Masaomi walked. "Oh yeah, it worked out real well for you."

"Well," Ceallach said, "unless you're lying to me, I'll shortly have the Mask, which works out as I had yet to identify the keys, let alone find them and force them to retrieve it for me. If you _are_ lying, I'll get to torture your friend to death, so tonight is really win-win for me."

"Whatever, asshole."

The rest of the walk passed in silence. Mikado tried to distract himself by wondering whether or not anyone had texted Celty to let her know what had happened at the meeting, or if they had been too busy taking care of other things. He wasn't sure if Ceallach had left any men behind to continue trying to destroy the Dollars, or if they had all left after he had been captured. He desperately wanted to know if Anri was all right, but didn't know of any way he could find out. His ribs throbbed, and by the time they reached Shinra's building, he had gone somewhat gray, with sweat beading on his forehead.

Masaomi led them inside and up to the top floor. He swallowed hard before knocking on the door, torn between guilt for leading Ceallach there and being unable to protect Mikado and relief because at least there was a doctor who could help.

Rather than Shinra's usual cheerful 'just a second!', there was a long moment of silence, and then the doctor cautiously called out, "Who is it?"

Ceallach nudged Mikado in the ribs, drawing a pained gasp, and nodded for Masaomi to answer.

Masaomi shot Ceallach a venomous glare. "Someday soon I'm gonna see you dead. Fucking gunned down in an alley." He whipped around to the door. "It's Kida and Mikado," he called out.

"Oh, is the meeting over already – " Shinra began, as he swung the door open.

As soon as the door opened, Celty knew who was on the other side. Or, at least she knew it was another fae and not a friend, and that narrowed it down considerably. She shoved the box with the Mask in it into Shizuo's arms and was next to Shinra in a split second. She pulled him back with one hand and extended the scythe with the other.

Masaomi looked like he wanted to disappear. "I'm sorry. He was going to kill Mikado."

"An option that's still on the table," Ceallach said calmly, "if I don't get what I want. The Mask. Where is it?"

Celty dropped her PDA into her hand and typed with her thumb, the scythe still extended. 'I thought I warned you about hurting these kids?'

"Just as I warned you that making an enemy of me was not wise," Ceallach said. "Now. Are we going to stand here all evening?"

Celty looked at Mikado, who was an awful shade of gray, and Masaomi, who seemed to be running on pure rage, which meant he could be hurt and not even know it. She backed up, allowing Ceallach in. After a moment, she gestured for them to go into the living room; it was no good to have everyone bottled up in front hallway. His men followed him, staying behind him in a loose semi-circle. Shizuo was leaning against the window; Izaya was flopped casually onto the sofa. They had only just arrived minutes previous and had been planning to leave the Mask safe in the warded apartment and go see how the Dollars meeting had gone, since texts to various members had all gone unanswered.

Shinra took a step forward. "Let me see to Mikado-kun," he said, in a voice that warned everyone present not to try to argue with him. For Ceallach's benefit, he added, "I'm a doctor."

"Isn't that nice for you?" Ceallach asked. "But Mikado-kun here won't be leaving my side until I have my mask."

The scythe shifted and moved closer. 'I could have your head off your shoulders. Let him see to the boy or you'll have to kill me to get to the Mask.' She stood there, with her head clearly nowhere in sight. He couldn't kill her.

"We are people of business, are we not?" Ceallach asked, his voice cold. "If I give you the boy, what incentive do you have to give me the Mask?"

"Maybe because it'll get you the hell out of town," Izaya remarked dryly.

Shizuo snorted. "For once we agree."

'You still have Masaomi.'

Mikado stirred slightly at that, emerging from the daze he had sunk into as a flash of fear went through him. "No," he said, reaching out and grabbing Masaomi's hand. "I'd rather stay here with him."

Ceallach rolled his eyes. "Yes, your loyalty to each other is endearing. I've seen quite enough of it. Just give me the Mask, then you can have both brats and the joy of being rid of me."

"What a liar," Izaya said with a snort. "You'll take the mask and then try to kill us all just on general principle. You think that we're that stupid?"

"I suppose that's fair," Ceallach said, amused. He shoved Mikado forward, and he stumbled, losing his grip on Masaomi's hand. Shinra caught him and helped him sit down right there on the floor in the living room. "All right. There's your good faith token. But I'm keeping the other one until the Mask is in my hands."

Celty moved to stand protectively over both of them. Masaomi's attention focused entirely on Mikado and Shinra. "Is he going to be okay? They made us walk."

Shinra didn't have to ask what hurt; it had been obvious just from the way Mikado had been standing. He carefully prodded along the teenager's ribs, and Mikado grit his teeth to keep from making any noise. "Two of the ribs are broken, but it doesn't look like there's any internal bleeding. He'll be sore as hell for a few days, but he should make a full recovery."

"Anri-san," Mikado said. "Has anyone heard from Anri-san? Is she okay?"

'We haven't heard from her yet.' Celty held the PDA out for Mikado but didn't take her eyes off Ceallach.

"Or any of the Dollars, for that matter," Izaya chipped it. The puck was still sitting on the sofa, lounging as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Ah, that would be my doing," Ceallach said, still clearly amused. "I didn't want anyone calling the cavalry this time."

Shinra stood. "Just sit tight here, Mikado-kun," he said, and squarely faced Ceallach. "I'm going to look over Masaomi-kun. You can keep him as your hostage, but when he gets riled up he doesn't always notice that he's wounded, so I'm going to check him out whether you like it or not."

Celty twitched. She didn't want Shinra that close to Ceallach or any of his people, but she knew better than to tell Shinra he couldn't do his job. That always ended in an ugly place.

Ceallach seemed to be settling in for negotiations. After a pause, he nodded. "I'll allow that."

Although Shinra wasn't sure he liked the word 'allow', he decided now wasn't the time to quibble. He stepped forward and took a quick look at Masaomi. "You've popped some stitches," he said. "Anything else hurt?"

Masaomi shrugged his good shoulder. "My arm."

Shinra carefully checked the joint. "It doesn't seem to be dislocated. Just strained. Soon as we get you back on our side of the room, we'll get it in a sling. Okay?"

"Sure." He seemed rather unconcerned for his own injuries, too busy watching everyone else.

Rather impatiently, Ceallach said, "Enough. You've got your precious founder back, and you've looked over this little brat. Now give me the Mask, or I'll take it."

Shizuo hefted the box, considering the weight.

Shinra looked at Celty and said, with some wistful eagerness, "When you're done with him, can I dissect him?"

'Only because I love you.' She typed it without much thought, an automatic, yet truthful response to Shinra being Shinra.

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Well, hey, I heard something about fae having to keep their promises, so maybe if you give us your word that you won't kill us all after we give you the Mask, we might do it. And then we could give you our word that we won't shoot you in the back or anything like that."

Still unamused, Ceallach said, "I won't make that promise. But I _will_ give you my word that there is going to be bloodshed if the Mask is not in my hands in the next ten seconds."

"What, like there hasn't been already?" Masaomi sniped.

"Perhaps the problem is that it isn't the right life on the line?" Ceallach mused. "I can see how you wouldn't care much about this one. Very well, then – " With a flick of his wrist, a knife dropped into his hand and he threw it before any of the others could react. They saw it only as a glittering blur as it flew through the air and hit Shinra in the chest with enough force to pin him to the wall like a butterfly. For a moment, everyone simply stared. Ceallach continued, "How about your lover, the doctor? Seems like a double win from where I'm standing."

If Celty could have screamed, she would have. Somewhere maybe her head even was. The scythe dissipated, one of her hands laying along Shinra's cheek and the other pressing flat to the center of his chest. She didn't know what to do.

Shinra let out a startled little cough. He looked down, then back up so he was looking at Celty. "Don't pull out the knife," he said, and was surprised to hear that his voice sounded fairly calm, almost normal. Pain followed the shock and he made a strangled noise, one hand clenching down on Celty's.

She left her hand pressed to his chest and let him hang on as tightly as he wanted. She typed hurriedly with her other hand. 'What should I do?' She knew she had to get the instructions now, before he couldn't breathe or couldn't think.

Shinra responded between wheezing breaths. "Get . . . that bastard . . . out of my apartment . . . and take me . . . to the hospital."

'I love you.' She took a step back and pressed two fingers to his lips. The scythe reappeared as she pulled away. She turned just in time to see Shizuo slam the box with the Mask in it into Ceallach's face. Ceallach stumbled backwards but stayed on his feet, and the other fae he had brought with him leapt forward. Masaomi took the opportunity to yank himself free and dive for Mikado.

Celty planted her feet and stood squarely in front of Shinra and let them come. As she drew back her scythe to swing, one of them threw a handful of what looked like gold powder into her face. She stumbled back, one hand coming up as if to ward it off, the skin of her hand burning where it touched her. With an ugly grin, the fae pulled out a knife, only to have his feet kicked out from underneath himself as Izaya jumped over the back of the sofa and entered the fray.

Masaomi grabbed Mikado by the back of his shirt and dragged him over to the wall next to Shinra. He knew Mikado could have made it on his own, but it would have taken him too long to get his feet under him. Masaomi looked up at Shinra, afraid the man would already be dead, but he was still conscious, blinking dazedly at the fight, his gaze somewhat glassy. He saw Masaomi looked at him and coughed again. "Hold me up," he wheezed. "If I pass out . . ."

Shizuo looked over, saw the three of them huddled there, and grabbed the coffee table in one hand, tossing it to land just in front of them and give them some cover. Celty let the scythe fall on the downed fae as soon as Izaya was clear of the danger from the blade. The puck rolled to his feet a bare moment later and pressed his back against Shizuo's.

Masaomi immediately did as Shinra asked, pressing his own shoulder to the wall under Shinra's arm. The blade was double-edged; if Shinra slid down the wall, it would aggravate the wound."If I leave the knife in, can we get you off the wall and sitting?"

"Yeah," Shinra said. "C-Careful. Have to – slide me up the blade a bit – "

Shizuo never thought he would feel grateful to have Izaya behind him, but he had also never been in a fight quite like this. He swung the heavy box still holding the Mask at the nearest enemy. It hit the fae squarely in the face, knocking him backwards, but he was back on his feet a mere moment later, and as Shizuo swung the box again, his opponent grabbed it in both hands.

Shizuo growled, held on tightly to the box and kicked out hard at the other fae. He refused to let go. They struggled over it for a few long moments before Celty's scythe came down between them, slicing through the fae's arms at the wrist. He howled and staggered backwards, losing his grip. Shizuo stumbled back as well as the fae let go, nearly knocked over by his own momentum. He grimaced as the fae's blood sprayed across the white of his shirt and managed to stay on his feet, helped by Izaya's shoulder pressing into his back as the puck dodged another fae's swing and kicked him in the knee hard enough to break the bone, sending him to the floor.

"Toward the handle?" Masaomi asked, because now was not the time to make a mistake.

"Yeah. Room to – to get your hand behind me and keep it steady – " Shinra's face was rapidly growing pale, his lips tinted blue as his breath came in short, sharp little gasps.

"Got it," Masaomi said, and shifted so he was in front of Shinra. "Sorry." With that he put one hand on the hilt of the knife to hold it steady, the strained joints in his arm screaming in protest. With his other hand, he took hold of Shinra's shoulder and carefully pulled him forward just a little, enough to slip the same hand between Shinra and the wall.

Shinra made a choked noise as Masaomi tugged the blade out of the wall, where it had sunk in nearly an inch deep. Blood spilled out of his mouth and down his chin. "Celty?" he called out, a note of dazed panic in his voice.

Masaomi slowly sank to the floor with Shinra. "Mikado, help me keep him upright," he said, as it was clear that Shinra wasn't going to be helping them.

"Right," Mikado said hastily, managing to push himself to his feet and get on Shinra's other side, supporting his weight.

Celty slammed the butt end of the scythe staff into her current attacker's throat and then was almost immediately on her knees next to Shinra. The scythe lay on the floor and she laced her fingers through Shinra's.

"Not . . . not enough time," Shinra coughed wetly. "Not gonna make it."

Another fae grabbed the chest. Shizuo, hearing Shinra's words, hit his opponent so hard that he went flying through the wall and landed in the next room.

Her fingers flew over the PDA. 'Please. You can't leave me.'

Most of Ceallach's men were now down, and the Sidhe himself entered the fray, grabbing the box as Shizuo gave it another swing. Shizuo growled, but was unable to pull it free; Ceallach was just as strong as he was.

"Hey," Izaya said suddenly, casually. "You got this bastard?"

"I got him," Shizuo replied before letting go just long enough to land a punch.

"Okay." Izaya reached out and flipped the lid off the box, grabbing the Mask from inside. It was cool to the touch, and a shiver went through him. He steeled his nerves for what he was about to do, fairly sure that nobody would be happy about it later. It didn't matter. They were out of better choices. Before anybody could react, he darted across the living room towards the small group that was now clustered behind the coffee table. He only had seconds to choose, and at the last moment, decided on Mikado. The teenager was mentally stronger and had willpower in spades; in Izaya's opinion, he was far more likely to be able to withstand the Mask – and the Mask was the only thing that could save Shinra.

Masaomi looked up when he saw Izaya heading towards them. For once they were on the same side, so he almost didn't see the danger until too late. He didn't see the Mask in Izaya's hands until he was reaching out for Mikado. He had time for two very distinct thoughts as he dove between Mikado and Izaya. The first was _the Mask kills_ and the second was _not Mikado_. He hit Izaya hands first and grabbed as he rolled away. When he stopped he didn't give Izaya chance to fight him for it, he simply put it on.

Mikado let out a cry that was both surprise and fear. "Masaomi!"

Ceallach let go of the empty box with a curse and started forward. Shizuo grabbed him around the waist and threw both of them to the floor. Izaya was startled as well, but didn't let it slow him down any. He grabbed Masaomi by the shoulders and demanded, "How can we save Shinra?"

The Mask had molded itself to fit Masaomi's face perfectly, and the irises of his eyes had gone black, like they were now windows into the infinite. His arms had dropped away from his face and hung loosely at his sides. There was no resistance to Izaya's manhandling at all. The question did cause movement, though. His face slowly turned to Izaya as the man asked his question and then cocked to the side as if he was listening to something. After a moment his empty gaze turned to pin on Celty. "Celty." The voice was still Masaomi's, but it was also washed clean of everything that showed his personality.

Celty turned to him though she didn't let go of Shinra. The Mask began speaking through Masaomi, every word in Celty's native Gaelic. She recognized the words, though she didn't know how. Only her head had the memory of when she had first learned them, but her heart knew it for what it was: the magic she needed in order to keep Shinra with her. When Masaomi finally fell silent, she turned back to Shinra. 'I'm going to save you.' She placed another two fingered kiss on his lips and then stood.

She kicked the table out of the way, creating a wide empty space on the floor and then paced over to where Shizuo held Ceallach down. Her shadow stretched impossibly long and sharp behind her. The Mask had reminded her of powers she had forgotten with her head and she was stronger for it.

Shizuo swallowed hard and then got out of Celty's way. She reached down, wrapped a hand around Ceallach's neck and lifted. She dragged him over to the empty space next to Shinra and dropped him. He immediately tried to get up, though his fight with Shizuo had left him somewhat worse for the wear. Her shadow writhed and stretched, pinning him down flat to the floor. She then turned and crouched next to Shinra and held out the PDA. 'Trust me and just hang on. I love you.' After he had a chance to read it she put the PDA in his hand and curled his fingers around it. She wrapped one hand around his shoulder and waved Mikado back. He went where he put her, but didn't stay still, instead grabbing at the Mask and trying to pry it off Masaomi's face. Masaomi's hands came up and wrapped gently around Mikado's wrists, pushing his hands away, the motion much more gentle and immovable than Masaomi would ever or could ever be.

Celty braced herself for what she was about to do, then wrapped her free hand around the knife and pulled it out in one smooth motion. Shinra let out a choked noise and blood began to gush from the wound.

She lay him down carefully and then turned to Ceallach, with Shinra's blood still coating the knife. Her hand came up and she slammed the knife down. It hit Ceallach in the exactly same place that it had hit Shinra. This was one life for another. She was angry enough to just let the sidhe bleed out for a while, but Shinra didn't have that sort of time. She bent over him, the fingers of both hands sinking without resistance or even any blood into his body, over his heart. Then she pulled. Ceallach screamed and she pulled harder. He fell silent and gripped in her hands was something that shimmered and had nothing to do with flesh or blood. After a moment all the colors fell away, leaving her with a handful of silver light. She carried it reverently over to Shinra and pressed her hands over his wound. The light sank in and the bleeding slowed.

In the silence that followed, Izaya swallowed and said, "Holy shit."

Celty didn't have any attention to spare for anyone who wasn't Shinra. His breathing was starting to steady out, and a little bit of color was returning to his face, though his eyes were closed and his head still turned to one side, his glasses askew.

The Mask turned sedately to Izaya and looked at him for a long moment through Masaomi's empty eyes. "You are a child. She would never harm a child. Even after what you've done."

Izaya turned rather green, and as much as Mikado enjoyed that, he went back to trying to pry the Mask off Masaomi's face. "How do I get this damned thing off?" he asked, his voice colored with equal parts frustration and desperation.

The Mask turned its attention to Mikado, and again gently restrained him. "You do not. It is not your choice to make."

Celty set his glasses right and ran careful fingertips over Shinra's now pointed ears. She felt boneless with relief.

"Then whose choice is it?" Mikado demanded.

"Kida Masaomi's."

Mikado nearly choked. "Masaomi," he said, "take the Mask off. Please . . ."

The Mask turned away.

"No, God damn it, I am _talking_ to you," Mikado snarled, grabbing Masaomi by the chin and forcing him to turn his face back towards him. "This isn't one of those times when you can just let something go because you don't want to talk about it, because you don't want to upset me. I'm not going to let you go! Take the damned thing off!"

The empty eyes met Mikado's. "He isn't ready to do that."

"Why not?"

"He is unsure of how much he wishes to know."

"What – what does that mean?"

"It means that you will wait and abide by his choice."

Mikado grit his teeth in frustration. "No! I won't! Masaomi makes stupid choices when he's left on his own. I'm done talking to the Mask; I want to talk to Masaomi!" He was only peripherally aware of his audience, most of them trying not to watch the painful scene, and had Masaomi's face now cupped in his hands so the teenager couldn't try to look away again. "Please don't leave me," he choked out. "I know you're strong enough to do this. I don't – I can't – " His voice trailed off into a whisper. "Please come back to me."

The empty eyes blinked and then the black started to fade. Mikado held his breath and asked, a little more hesitantly, "Masaomi?"

There was an unsteady laugh. "I guess."

"Can I . . .?" Mikado hesitantly slid his fingers under the edge of the Mask. This time it came away from Masaomi's face easily. It shivered once and then lay still and reflective in Mikado's hands. "Are you . . . are you still there?" Mikado asked, not sure what he meant by the question but somehow knowing that it needed to be asked.

There was another laugh. "All of me. Some of everything else." He gave Mikado a perplexed look. "Why would anyone want to know everything?"

Mikado opened his mouth to say that he had no idea, but couldn't get it out past the lump in his throat. He settled for wrapping his arms around Masaomi and hugging him as tightly as he could, despite the horrible ache in his ribs.

Masaomi was limp in his arms for a moment and then he suddenly hugged back, his hands fisting in Mikado's shirt. "My head hurts."

"My everything hurts," Mikado said. He suddenly remembered Shinra, and looked over just as the doctor was gingerly trying to sit up, one hand on his chest where the wound had been. Masaomi didn't bother to look up. He knew exactly what he would see.

Celty put an arm around Shinra's shoulders and helped him upright. Shinra blinked around the room. "That felt really weird," he said.

Celty gently took her PDA back. 'Do you feel all right now?'

"I feel great, actually, which is odd when you consider that there is a hole in my chest and a dead guy on the carpet right next to me," Shinra said, blinking at Ceallach's body in some puzzlement.

'You should heal quickly. And we can pick out a new carpet later.'

"That's . . . great?" Shinra said.

'I traded his life for yours.' There was a long moment and then she gently took one of his hands and guided it up to his own ear.

There was a long pause. "My ears are pointy," Shinra said, blinking at her.

'Yes. He was a sidhe. I took his life and gave it to you.'

"Oh," Shinra said. It looked like he might say something else, but then he rolled onto his side and began coughing. Blood splashed onto the floor. He coughed again, weakly, and closed his eyes, feeling his stomach churn. "Oh God," he said, trying not to pass out.

Celty knelt behind Shinra, so he could lean on her, but still lie on his side. This was the first time she had actually seen his back, which was soaked in blood. Fae healing abilities or no, Shinra was still in rough shape with all the blood he had lost, much of which he would have to cough out of his healing lung. She gently lifted his glasses free so they wouldn't press uncomfortably into his face and ran a gentle hand over his hair.

Mikado's phone let out a chirp, and he jumped and grabbed it. "Hello?" he asked.

"Mikado-kun! Are you all right?"

"Anri-san!" Mikado breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, I'm okay, Masaomi and I are both okay . . . somehow," he added, looking around the room. "What about you and the rest of the Dollars?"

"We're all right, most of us anyway," Anri said. "Some of them had to go to the hospital because of the fight. Kadota-san helped me take care of everyone. My phone only just now started working again. Where are you?"

"We're at Celty's," Mikado said. "It's kind of a long story . . . why don't you text Saki and then the two of you can meet us here?"

"Okay," Anri said. "We'll be there soon."

Masaomi looked up a little at Anri and Saki's names. He opened his mouth to speak but found that he didn't know what to say or even how to say it. Suddenly there was so many options. So many choices and paths that nothing he said would seem right or relevant. So he closed his mouth and leaned his head again Mikado's shoulder because the world was tilting in an alarming fashion. Mikado hung up with Anri and looked at him in concern. "Masaomi? Are you okay?"

After a long moment of consideration, Masaomi shrugged. His head hurt like nothing before, but he didn't think anything was actually wrong. Or maybe something that had been broken had finally been set right. He couldn't decide, so he only shrugged and kept a hold of Mikado's shirt.

Shizuo looked around at the disaster, then calmly pulled out and lit a cigarette. "Do we know another doctor?"

"I know a guy who'll come pick up the bodies," Izaya said, almost grateful for something to do as he pulled out his phone and started texting.

Shizuo thought about making a snide comment, but somehow, given everything that had happened and the genuine need to clean house, it didn't seem worth it.

Shinra pushed himself up with one hand, but didn't manage to go very far before he started coughing again. "Celty, in my phone . . . Moriyama is a doctor I've worked with a few times. He can come see . . . to Mikado-kun and Masaomi-kun."

'Lay down.' Celty pushed him down and then fished his phone out, scrolled through the numbers and sent a text.

"No, I shouldn't lay down," Shinra said, struggling upright again. "Easier to cough all the blood out of my lung if I'm sitting. Also, easier to breathe. Chest muscles don't have to work against gravity." Shinra was the doctor and Celty knew better than to argue, so she helped him sit up. He leaned against her rather heavily. "Is faerie blood compatible with human blood? Because if so, I'm thinking a unit or two would not hurt me right now."

'I think so, but I'm not positive.' Celty wrapped one arm around his waist to keep him upright.

"Yes," Masaomi said into Mikado's shoulder, as she was typing. Everyone blinked at him.

Izaya snapped his phone shut. "Clean-up crew will be here in about ten minutes."

"Wonderful," Shinra said. "I needed new carpets anyway." He sounded a little woozy. "I'm thinking painkillers and two units of blood for me, painkillers for Mikado-kun and Masaomi-kun, body removal, and then everyone can let me sleep for a while."

Mikado realized that he was still clutching the Mask in one hand. "Uhm," he said. "What do we do with this thing?"

One of Masaomi's hands covered the hand Mikado was holding the Mask in. "It needs to go home."

"Oh . . . do you know where home is?" Mikado asked.

Masaomi looked up and was quiet for a long minute. "I don't have one."

"I – what?" Mikado asked, blinking. Masaomi didn't seem inclined to repeat himself. Mikado had to take a deep breath, which would have worked to calm him if not for the fact that it made his broken ribs start screaming at him again. He winced involuntarily and tried to stay focused on Masaomi. "What do you mean, you don't have one?"

Opinions were beyond him. There were too many choices. Questions, those came with a steadying of the universe and clear answers there in front of him. "I don't live anywhere."

"Yes, you do," Mikado said, confused. "You live with your parents. And sometimes with me. In my apartment."

That didn't seem quite right to Masaomi, but again, he had no ready answer because there was no question. Mikado was left simply staring at him, not knowing what to say. After a few moments, he instead turned his gaze to the others. "What . . ." he managed.

Celty had to admit, at least to herself, that what she was hearing was not exactly reassuring. She knew the Mask broke minds, but she also got the impression that no one had ever taken it off before death or complete raving lunacy. Masaomi wasn't raving and he had only worn it for a few moments. 'Give him time. That sort of magic is very hard on people.' She considered what she had heard. 'He seems to be able to answer direct questions. Stick to those when you need to know something, but for now I think we should let him rest.'

Mikado nodded, trying desperately not to think too hard about what had happened to his friend. He couldn't imagine a universe where Masaomi didn't joke and make fun, where he could only answer questions and have that horribly vague look on his face. He pushed all that away. "The Mask will be safe here for a few days, right?" he asked. "Since Ceallach . . . won't be trying to get it anymore," he added, his gaze skirting around the Sidhe's body.

'It should be safe,' Celty agreed.

"Okay." Mikado leaned against Masaomi and decided that he was done for a little while. Masaomi rested his head again Mikado's and closed his eyes.

oOoOo 


	17. Chapter 16

_A/N: One more to go after this! Mikado is kind of wibbly in this chapter, but hey, he's had a rough week. (Also, if we're going to be fair, wibbly!Mikado is probably closer to anime canon than the snarky!Mikado I tend to write. *cough*)_

Chapter Sixteen

Things at Shinra's got hectic for a little while. Izaya's clean-up crew arrived, wearing uniforms that looked suspiciously like the same cleaning agency that had once threatened Mikado in his apartment, back while they still worked for Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. Mikado didn't notice, and nobody pointed it out.

They were efficient, whoever they were; they were there for less than fifteen minutes before the bodies were gone and the bloody carpet torn out, with some cheap throw rugs laid down after the fact. Izaya paid them in cash and then departed with them, not wanting to spend any more time than necessary around Shizuo, the teenagers, or the Mask. Shizuo had already declared his intention to hang around for a little while in case anyone else showed up looking for trouble.

By the time Shinra's colleague showed up, Masaomi had passed out. Shinra himself was back on his feet by that point, though he was moving a little gingerly, one hand occasionally lingering over the wound. He would peer down at it every thirty seconds or so, fascinated by the speed at which it was healing. If Moriyama was surprised that Shinra had pointed ears or a hole in his chest that should have killed him, he said nothing about it. He simply hooked the doctor up to an IV, hung two units of blood, and moved on to the teenagers.

Masaomi didn't even twitch while Moriyama fixed the stitches he had popped and put a bandage on his sprained wrist. In fact, the doctor became somewhat concerned at this and tried to rouse him, which had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Celty put a stop to that. She was fairly sure that Masaomi would be much better off after some serious sleep. There was nothing any doctor could do for whatever damage had been done to his mind by the Mask. They put him in the spare room to sleep it off.

Mikado's ribs were broken but he had no other injuries besides some bruises on his throat, from where Ceallach had held him aloft. Moriyama advised him to take it easy for a few days and try to stay off his feet, which Mikado was perfectly happy to abide by. The doctor left just as Anri and Saki showed up. Kadota had given them a ride, picking Saki up on their way, though he didn't come up to the apartment with them. Mikado heard the door open and came out of the spare room to greet them.

Saki stopped just inside the door and looked around, taking in the missing carpets, the jumbled furniture, and Shizuo smoking inside. "Well," Saki said, "this looks unpleasantly exciting. Is everyone okay?"

Mikado nodded, then cleared his throat. He didn't want to have to tell the long story, and he especially didn't want to have to explain to Saki that Masaomi had put on the Mask to save him, and may or may not be coming back the same as he had been. Then he looked around and realized there was no one else to explain. Celty would have had to type everything out, which would take far too long. Shinra was dozing by this point, leaning against her. And Shizuo? No. Just no. The blonde would probably say something terse and completely unhelpful like 'everyone's alive. Except the bad guys. And your boyfriend's in a coma.'

When Saki and Anri both looked at him rather expectantly, he said, "It may take a few minutes for me to explain, but everyone is . . . is basically okay, and Ceallach is taken care of." He found himself desperately wanting to stall. For some reason, it felt like until he had to tell the girls, it wasn't all real. He could pretend that everything was the way it should be for another precious few minutes. "Celty-san, do you mind if I make some tea?"

Celty gave him a thumbs up and then waved Shizuo over to her to help her put the sofa and coffee table back where they should be.

Saki opened her mouth to start asking questions, but Mikado looked so pinched and worried she thought that maybe it would be wise to let him have a minute. He busied himself making the tea, took a deep breath, and began to explain, starting with when they had left the Dollars meeting. He assumed, correctly, that Anri had already told her about what had happened at the meeting itself. He kept things as brief as possible, not giving a lot of detail, and managed to tell the entire story before the water finished heating, without once looking up from his hands.

Saki was quiet for a long moment, just listening. When he was done, she still had questions, but those could wait for a moment. She stood and pulled Mikado into a hug. Anri embraced him from the other side, leaning her head against his shoulder. He let out a shuddering breath. "I'm okay," he said, knowing it was a lie, but also knowing that it needed to be said.

"You don't have to be," Saki informed him.

He took another deep breath. It came a little easier. "Being upset about it won't help anything," he said.

"You might feel better if you got some of it out of your system," Saki informed him. Having a good cry, most girls and woman knew, often released some pressure. It was really too bad that most males were blind to this fact.

Mikado managed a wan smile. "Mostly I just want to sleep," he said.

Anri squeezed his hand. "I'm sure that Masaomi-kun will be fine," she said. "He's not the type of person to lose to something like this."

"He doesn't know how to give up," Saki agreed. "Not anymore, not with you around."

Mikado shook his head. "That somehow makes it worse. He did that to save _me_."

"And to save himself," Saki said, knowing that Masaomi without Mikado was not a Masaomi that any of them wanted to see return. "So don't give up on him. Sometimes he does know what he's doing."

"Yeah," Mikado said, and his voice trailed off into silence. "I guess I'll just get some sleep. I'm really tired."

"Okay." Saki stepped back. "We can all go see Masaomi and then you can sleep." Mikado nodded and they headed for the spare room. Shinra was putting the IV equipment away when they got there, and reassured them that Masaomi's condition hadn't changed; he was just sleeping. The blonde was normally a light sleeper, but he didn't twitch as the group of them entered the room. He had been stripped out of his clothes and tucked into the bed, and appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Saki started to give a nod to Shinra, but stopped and stared at his ears for a moment before shaking herself. "Sorry."

"No problem," Shinra said, unbothered. He frowned at Mikado. "Did Moriyama-sensei give you anything for your ribs?"

Mikado blinked. "He said they couldn't be wrapped. Something about pneumonia and common misconceptions. He just told me to take it easy for a few days."

"That's not what I meant," Shinra said. "I meant, did he give you anything for the pain?"

"What? Oh, no, but I'm fine," Mikado said automatically.

"You're an idiot," Saki informed him primly. She turned to Shinra and took another long look at him, this time taking in the careful way he moved and how pale he was, rather than his pointed ears. "Can I get what he needs?"

Shinra nodded. "Top drawer over there," he said, pointing to one of the cabinets. He told Saki what to look for, and Mikado looked at the two pills she handed to him like they were from another planet before swallowing them dry.

With Mikado taken care of, she turned her eyes to Masaomi. She could already tell that something was wrong, no matter how peaceful he looked. He was arranged on the bed in what would have been a comfortable enough position, flat on his back, arms at his sides. But that wasn't Masaomi. He either curled up next to whoever he was with, or sprawled. This reminded her uncomfortably of when she had first seen him in the hospital after the Dollars had put an end to the Blue Squares. She felt her shoulders sag and she sat down on the edge of his bed.

Seeing the look on her face, Anri wrapped an arm around Saki's shoulders. "He'll be all right," she said, with unusual confidence in her voice. "I think . . . because he has both of you now. All of us. He's been really happy, and . . . I don't think he would ever give that up."

Saki leaned back into Anri's embrace. "For such a big bad gang leader, he has too many selfless impulses." She looked down at Masaomi's sleeping face and then up at Mikado. What she really wanted to know was what, exactly, had happened. Mikado's explanation had been terse at best. But Mikado looked to be at the end of his rope. She considered her other options. Shinra didn't look so great and given what little she did know, she was willing to bet he had missed a lot. Asking Shizuo anything usually got one the Cliff's Notes of the Reader's Digest version. Hardly useful. And Celty? She had to type everything. That left Izaya.

"He does at that," Anri agreed. She gave Mikado a gentle shove towards the bed with her free hand. "You should lie down for a bit, Mikado-kun. We'll go help Celty-san put the apartment back to rights. Call us if you need us, okay?"

Mikado was too tired to argue any longer. He flopped down on the bed, trying to keep the pained expression off his face when Masaomi didn't even react to his presence rather than curling up around him like usual.

Saki bit her lip at Masaomi's lack of movement and then squared her shoulders. "We won't be far." She turned and left the room with Anri on her trail. Shinra left behind them and shut the door most of the way, leaving it ajar in case Mikado needed anything. Shizuo and Celty had gotten the apartment more or less back in order, though for the moment little could be done about the hole in one of the walls from where Shizuo had tossed an opponent through it. Fortunately, it was a wall that simply led from one room to another, rather than leading out of Shinra's apartment.

Celty was looking at the hole with a hand on her hip. When Shinra was closer she typed, 'Maybe we can make an archway? With a fish tank?' There was a pause. 'Are you okay?' She took his hand.

"Do I not look okay?" Shinra asked, blinking at her. "Anyway, I figured we would just replace the wall; that seems like the easiest solution."

'You look a little peaky. You also nearly died and then changed species. It's a lot.'

Shinra studied her over the rims of his glasses for a few minutes. He bit down on his lip, but the snickers escaped him anyway. "Really? 'It's a lot'? That's your summary of the situation?" He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. "I'm a little tired. But the transfusion helped. I'm fine. I'm wonderful. I get to stay with you forever."

There was a long pause, and then she threw herself at him, hugging him fiercely.

"Tch," Shizuo said. "Get a room, you two." But he was smiling despite himself.

'Quiet, you.' Celty held the PDA out to him.

Saki cleared her throat. "Celty-san, is there a place I could use to make a quick phone call?"

'The office.' Celty pointed to a room that actually seemed free of damage, without entirely letting go of Shinra. She wondered who Saki was calling, but figured that if Saki wanted them to know, she wouldn't have bothered asking for privacy.

"Thanks," Saki said, and headed for the other room. She wasn't surprised when Anri followed her, clearly aware of what Saki was doing and wanting to be privy to any additional information that she could get.

Saki pulled Izaya up on her speed dial and hit send. She stayed standing, because she thought she might want to sit down before this is over and wanted the option to be able to do so. The phone rang six times and then went to Izaya's voice mail. She hung up and redialed. He picked up on the first ring. "Saki," he said pleasantly, as if he were thrilled to hear from her.

"Izaya-san, how are you?" The concern was genuine.

"Pff, fine," he said, then after a moment, "a little roughed up, but nothing big. Where are you? At Shinra's already?"

"Yes." She paced back and forth. "Mikado was only able to give me the very basics, so I was hoping you would fill in the details for me."

There was a brief pause, barely noticeable. But from Izaya, the silence spoke volumes. "You pissed?" he asked. It sounded almost like he cared, rather than simply trying to plan ahead.

"I don't know. I just need to know what happened to Masaomi. I didn't call to have someone to yell at; I called because I need to have someone tell me the truth."

Izaya told her. He started at the point where Shinra had been injured and related the events with as much detail as he could remember, unlike Mikado's brief, glossed over version. There was no hint of remorse in his tone; he was simply giving the facts. When Saki went quiet to let him talk, Anri pressed her ear in close so she could listen as well.

Saki drew in a deep, shaky breath upon hearing his description of Masaomi's behavior after he took the Mask off. Izaya knew her well enough to tell that it was because she was upset, not angry. She couldn't even be angry at what Masaomi had done, because he had saved Mikado. "That is . . . less promising than I had hoped."

Izaya was uncharacteristically silent.

"Was he there at all?" She wanted to hear the 'Yes' so badly that she was almost willing to take a lie, if it came down to it.

"I don't know, Saki," Izaya said. "But he took the Mask off of his own free will. I think that's probably a good sign."

Saki took another deep breath. "Okay. Thank you for telling me."

"Catch you later," Izaya said, and hung up without another word.

Saki closed her phone and bit her lip, clearly trying not to cry. Anri still had an intensely thoughtful expression on her face. "You know . . ." she said, hesitantly, "I remember after I heard Saika for the first time. It changed me . . . but I think I'm still me, underneath it all. It'll take some getting used to . . . but he's still Masaomi. So don't give up. Okay?"

Saki nodded mutely and then leaned on Anri. "I think I just need to have a cry and get it out of my system."

"Okay," Anri said, and hugged her tightly.

oOoOo

Masaomi slept for nearly two days, and they were two of the longest days in Mikado's life. He slept so soundly that he didn't even move, which had Shinra bothered more than any of the others. The doctor insisted on periodically shifting Masaomi to make sure that he didn't grow stiff. Even being moved around didn't rouse the blonde teenager.

Celty kept telling them to wait and be patient, that Masaomi needed time to recover, that rest was the best thing for him. Mikado didn't dare ask how long they were supposed to wait before becoming concerned. He supposed that he didn't really want the answer. Saki was there just as often as he was, and it was only when she was there, holding Masaomi's hand, that Mikado would try to get some sleep. Not that he could sleep very well; he had bad dreams, and could never stay asleep for more than a couple hours.

Anri came in and out. She was just as worried as either of them, but her level of detachment allowed her to badger them gently about things like food and rest and even homework. It alarmed everyone when she brought Mikado his assignments and he simply set them aside without even glancing at them. She coaxed and cajoled, and he finally looked at them, but after ten minutes he just put them away again, shaking his head and saying that he couldn't focus.

Masaomi finally shifted, like he was deciding whether to wake or just curl up and go back to sleep. Apparently sleep won, because he rolled onto his side and pressed his face into the new, cool spot on his pillow before falling still again. He moved again only a moment later, shifting closer to whoever was sitting on the bed with him. That, of course, was Mikado, who nearly forgot how to breathe the moment that Masaomi moved of his own volition. "M-Masaomi?" he asked, cringing away from how loud his own voice was in the still room, though he had barely spoken above a whisper.

Masaomi made a contented humming sound, a faint smile playing across his lips. He shifted again, using Mikado's thigh as a pillow. Clearly whatever dream he was having was a nice one. Mikado hesitated, not wanting to force him awake if he was finally going to start showing signs of life again. He looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, craning his neck to see into the hallway. Saki had gone to take a nap only about a half hour previous, and Anri was at school. He didn't know where Shinra and Celty were, but other than Shinra coming in periodically to check on Masaomi, they had mostly been leaving him alone.

Mikado's movement seemed to rouse the blonde from his sleep, and eventually he blinked his eyes open and then gave a jaw-popping yawn.

"Masaomi?" Mikado tried again. He remembered what Celty had said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fuzzy." He rubbed a hand over his face and then into his eyes.

Mikado's heart leapt in his chest to hear an actual coherent answer. He decided, hesitantly, to try a statement instead of a question. "You've been asleep for over two days."

That earned him a slightly baffled look, but the truth of his words hung sharp and bright like a shining thread in a growing tapestry. Masaomi watched it shift and stretch for a moment before it sunk in that the silence was also stretching. "Two days, nine hours and," here he had to pause and listen for the rest of the answer, "forty-two minutes. You don't care about seconds. They come and go so fast."

Mikado blinked. For a few long moments, that was all he could muster. Then he hastily moved on, since there didn't seem to be anything he could say to that. "Are you hungry? Or thirsty?" He remembered the sprained wrist and the popped stitches. "Or in any pain?"

"Yes, yes, n . . ." The last word literally choked him. It lodged in his throat and refused to budge until he was willing to swallow it back down and rethink. "Some." That seemed to satisfy whatever new part of him that wasn't just him, but was part of everything else.

"Okay." Mikado didn't catch the slip. He tilted his head towards the door and called out, "Shinra-san? Masaomi's awake." He didn't say more than that. His friend's behavior was still a little off, and he wasn't going to venture an opinion on whether or not he was actually okay. He heard a faint reply from Shinra and tried for a reassuring smile at Masaomi, squeezing his friend's hand. Masaomi squeezed back and considered his friend's smile. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It wasn't like Mikado's normal smile, or even his small 'I'm pretending to be exasperated with you but in truth I think you're hilarious' smile.

Shinra bustled in a few moments later. When he saw Masaomi upright and looking around, he smiled, a much more genuine smile than Mikado's. "How are you feeling, Masaomi-kun?"

"Fuzzy, hungry, and thirsty. And my wrist hurts." Apparently he had decided this in the meantime.

"Okay," Shinra said. He glanced at Mikado and the near deathgrip that the teen had on his friend's hand. "Mikado-kun, why don't you go grab Masaomi-kun a glass of water and something to eat? I'm just going to check his stitches and rewrap his wrist; you won't miss anything exciting." Mikado nodded, mumbled something vaguely appropriate, and stood up to go.

At first Masaomi's fingers tightened about Mikado's, but the pattern that came and went from his vision showed how Mikado always looped back to him. He uncurled his fingers enough to let Mikado go. Once he was gone, Shinra began poking and prodding at places that were still rather sore, though he had done a lot of healing while he had been asleep. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay, Masaomi?" That got a solemn nod of agreement. "Do you remember what happened before you put on the Mask?"

Masaomi nodded, but didn't offer anything else as he had answered the question posed to him.

"Do you remember what happened after you took it off?"

Another nod. It was starting to creep Shinra out just a little. It wasn't right for Masaomi to be answering these questions about such an incredible event with simple nods. Shinra wasn't sure what he thought the teenager should be saying, but he was sure he didn't like what he was getting instead. He tried to think of a question that might prompt a greater response. Yes and no questions clearly weren't going to get anything beyond a yes or a no. "What was it like, having the Mask on?"

"Loud and bright and _amazing_." There was a pause. "Everything made sense. The universe is a little snide though."

Shinra smiled. That was more the Masaomi he had hoped to see. They could deal with this. The trick would be getting Mikado to understand that. "Yeah? What did it say that was snide?"

Masaomi pouted. "That I angst too much," he said. Then he yawned hugely.

Shinra had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He looked up as Mikado came in with a can of juice and a sandwich, still looking somewhat hesitantly. "He seems to be okay overall," Shinra said, "though from the look of things I'd say he needs to get some more sleep."

"Oh . . . okay," Mikado said. He gave the plate and the can to Masaomi.

Masaomi smiled at him, bright and honest, before diving at the food. The sandwich disappeared in record time and the juice almost as quickly. Shinra left while he was eating, leaving the two of them alone. Mikado waited while Masaomi ate, fidgeting, tugging at the cuffs of his shirt. "Uhm . . ." he said, and then his voice trailed off. "Anri-san and the others are okay," he said, as if Masaomi had asked, trying not to let on that it bothered him that Masaomi hadn't. "Some of the Dollars got roughed up, but they were taken care of."

Masaomi could see how upset he was as if it was a lit sign in front of him. "I know." The smile was almost mischievous. "I asked. I wanted to be sure."

"So . . . you can still . . ." Mikado trailed off. He wasn't sure how to phrase it, and was sort of hoping that if he let the sentence trail off, Masaomi would give him some details. He didn't. Instead, he tilted his head to one side, looking confused. Mikado took a deep breath. "Can you still see the truth of everything? I mean, is it like you're still wearing the Mask?"

"Sort of and no."

"I . . . oh." Mikado wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. He realized suddenly that if he tried to make sense of Masaomi much longer, he was probably going to cry from sheer frustration. "Why don't you get more sleep, like Shinra-san suggested?" Then he could go get Saki up and give her an update. She could sit with him for a while in case he woke up again.

Masaomi nodded and snuggled down into the blankets. Once he was settled, he reached out and grabbed Mikado's hand. "I'm glad I didn't want to know everything."

"Yeah," Mikado said, thinking of how much worse things might be if Masaomi had worn the Mask much longer. "Me too."

Masaomi let go of Mikado's hand. "It promised everything would be fine."

Mikado could think of a dozen things he could say in response to that, most notably 'what promised, the universe?' and 'whose definition of fine are we using here?' It was hard to squeeze any words out past the lump in his throat, though, so he settled on, "Okay. I guess that's good."

"You'll see," Masaomi said confidently.

oOoOo

The next day found Masaomi out of bed, although Saki wouldn't swear that he was always precisely with them. Actually, he was hardly with them at all. He would answer direct questions, but only with as much information as was needed. He didn't elaborate at all unless it was required. It was a little unnerving sometimes, such as when he would answer Celty even when she and her PDA were across the room, or when he answered rhetorical questions with very real answers.

But mostly he simply drifted. Around the apartment itself, or just mentally. Earlier he had sat down by a window and stared out for hours. Now he was slumped against the same window, asleep. They had draped a blanket over him but otherwise let him be. Celty was the resident expert on magic and she and Shinra agreed that it would be better to just let Masaomi alone for the most part.

This left Saki at loose ends. She needed something to do. Suddenly she stood from the sofa and smoothed down her skirt before turning to Anri and Mikado. "I'm going out. Which one of you is coming with me?"

Mikado glanced at her and said, "I don't – "

"Mikado-kun will," Anri said, with unusual firmness in her voice. "I'll stay with Masaomi-kun."

There was a brief pause. Mikado, who hadn't slept much over the last few days, took a few moments for his brain to click into gear while he looked at her. "Anri-san, I'd really rather . . ."

"You need to go with Saki-san," Anri said.

Shinra looked up from where he was sitting at his computer. "Why don't all three of you go?" he suggested. When Mikado opened his mouth, he said, "I assure you that Celty and I are fully capable of looking after Masaomi-kun for a few hours so you three can have some downtime and get some fresh air. Now get out for a while. Doctor's orders."

"It's decided, then," Saki said cheerfully. She held out a hand to Mikado.

He sighed and took it, then stood. Maybe they were right. He hadn't left the apartment since their arrival with Ceallach. Sitting around watching Masaomi was only making him feel worse. If his presence was helping his friend, that would be one thing, but he honestly wasn't sure that Masaomi even noticed that he was there. "Where are we going?"

"Apartment hunting."

Mikado looked at her blankly while he put on his shoes, wondering if he had missed something. Was he really that tired? "I already have an apartment. You have an apartment. Why are we going apartment hunting?"

"Because Masaomi doesn't. So we can all get one together."

"I guess," Mikado said. His stomach churned at the idea. He knew that they couldn't exactly bring Masaomi back to his parents' place when he was like this. He also knew that nobody would be thrilled with the idea of Masaomi living in the little hole he currently called home. But the idea of getting a place with Masaomi right now, having to spend all day looking at that blank stare, behind which had once lived one of the liveliest people he had ever met, made him want to be sick.

Saki paused long enough to put shoes on and let Mikado put his own on and then she dragged him out into the hallway. "He said he didn't have a home. We are going to fix that."

"Okay," Mikado said, not knowing what else he could say to that. Anri was smiling a quiet little smile as she fell into step beside them. She found the idea strange, but appealing. She knew that she was meant to be alone, but . . . maybe after all this time, she had finally been alone long enough.

Saki towed Mikado along out of the building and onto the sidewalk. "You aren't allowed to give up on him."

"I'm not giving up on him, I just . . ." Mikado's voice trailed off into frustration. "I don't know how you can stand it."

"It's not easy. But we see little flashes of him, so I just . . . have to try."

"This is all my fault," Mikado said miserably.

"What? How do you figure that?"

"We didn't even have to get involved," Mikado said. "I'm the one who made the decision to do that. To try to help. Because these guys beat up Izaya-san and he's in the Dollars, and I . . . I don't even _like_ Izaya-san. I just went and stuck my nose into it anyway because of some stupid, childish ideas about what being 'taichou' is all about. I never should have gotten us involved in this to begin with. It wasn't my business."

"It was your business. Because you're Taichou." Saki sighed. "Do you know why Masaomi loves you?"

Mikado gave her a dubious look. "Because he's crazy?"

Saki shook her head at him. "Because you're you."

"Wow, that's very zen." Mikado kicked a can that someone had left on the sidewalk and sent it skittering into the road. "Now I feel better about everything. Thanks, Saki-san."

"Don't be a twit. My point is that you wouldn't be you anymore if you didn't do things like want to help Izaya-san even though you don't like him. Masaomi, despite how he acts, isn't stupid. He didn't follow you into this blindly."

"Besides," Anri said, "last time, you _didn't_ get involved, and then everything only got worse. That's what would have happened this time, too." She reached out and curled her hand around his. "You made the right decision, Mikado-kun. Even if Masaomi-kun wasn't going to be okay, you still would have made the right decision. That's why we all supported you."

Saki nodded. "That's the way things are in Ikebukuro," she said. "Bad things happen. We do our best to stop them, and sometimes people get hurt."

Mikado sighed. "Every time something like this happens, I get all excited and glad that I formed the Dollars. Then it ends badly and I wind up thinking that I did everything all wrong. That I don't belong here."

"You want to know a secret?" Saki asked, with a sympathetic smile. "That's got nothing to do with Ikebukuro or the Dollars or magical masks. That's just part of life. Everyone has to struggle to find their place. You _do_ belong here, Mikado. You foiled a human trafficking ring when you had only been in town a few weeks. That doesn't mean you're not going to make mistakes on occasion. But it does mean that you have to cut yourself a little slack when things go badly."

Mikado took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry I've been so hard to deal with."

"We forgive you for that, too," Anri said, squeezing his hand.

Saki smiled at them both. "C'mon, let's go find a place to call home."

oOoOo 


	18. Chapter 17

_A/N: This last chapter is kind of long, because there was a lot to go in it, but not enough to split it down into two._

Okay! For a first stab at DRRR! fanfiction, I think this came out pretty well. C&C is welcome and appreciated!

Some people had inquired about a sequel, especially because we didn't resolve the question of the original thief and the compulsion spell laid on Shizuo and Izaya, so for those of you who are interested, we will give you a definite maybe. We've talked about it, and if we can come up with a good way to do it, we're definitely game. =D

Thanks to everyone for reading!

Chapter Seventeen

Celty watched the three kids leave from her seat at the kitchen table. Sitting in the center of the table was the heavy wooden box that held the Mask, and over the edge of it she could see Masaomi peacefully asleep against the window. She watched him for a long moment and then her hands went to the box and she lifted the lid gently.

The Mask was silent with no mouth or voice of its own. She imagined all the things it could say. All the questions it could answer, but only at the price of someone else's voice. She only had one question, only one thing she felt she was missing now that she had Shinra for all the long years of her life.

"You don't want to know now. Now you're happy. Enjoy it." Celty gently closed the lid to the box to reveal Masaomi looking at her with surprisingly clear eyes. There was nothing empty or vacant in the level look he gave her; instead it was full of the casual insight that Masaomi often displayed but now backed by a pool of infinite wisdom. She was glad to see that it didn't make him look any older. She could just ask him. "You could. And I could answer. But I won't. If you don't ask me, I won't have to refuse."

Shinra stood with his hands on Celty's shoulders. He gave them a squeeze. "We don't need to ask," he said. Celty's hand came up to cover Shinra's.

"You'll find out one day," Masaomi promised. He stood then, shedding the blanket and laying it on the chair before moving towards them. The progress was slow; he got lost for a few minutes looking out a different window and then pulled himself away with a shake of his head. Soon he was standing at the table looking at the box.

"How are you feeling?" Shinra asked.

"Coherent." He pulled the box towards him and opened it.

All three of them looked down at the Mask. Shinra felt edgy, ready to try to grab it if he thought that Masaomi was going to reach for it. Celty held her breath and tightened her grip on Shinra's hand.

Masaomi didn't seem to feel the same sort of concern. In fact, he looked at it almost fondly before reaching in and lifting it out.

"Ah," Shinra said, reaching out.

Celty almost let him, but at the last second some instinct took over. Masaomi holding the Mask made her uncomfortable, but somehow it seemed like letting Shinra touch it, even to take it away, would be more dangerous than just letting Masaomi have it. She tugged him back and laid a finger against his lips.

Masaomi held it up in front of his face and looked through the eyes, though he never held it close enough to touch his face. He handled it without fear. Celty watched through the eye holes as Masaomi's eyes went dark again. Then he suddenly blinked and laughed, pulling it away and turning it to face him.

"Wow," Shinra said in an undertone, not wanting to say anything about how freaked out he was. And he was someone who did not easily get freaked out. He was suddenly very glad that the teenagers had gone out; he was fairly sure that both Mikado and Saki would be having heart failure right about now. "Uh. What's so funny?"

"The world. The way it works." He touched his forehead and nose to the Mask like it was a normal and loved face. Like he was about to kiss it. Then he set it back down gently into its box. Celty sagged in relief once Masaomi had set it down. After a second, she reached for her PDA. Masaomi waved it off. "It wants to go home. It's lonely."

"How do we get it home?" Shinra asked.

"I don't know the whole path. I didn't look." He shrugged and then grinned. "But it would like to meet the Lady of the City to start its journey."

'Does she know where it's from? She never said anything!' Celty typed, clearly indignant.

"I don't . . ." Masaomi choked on the words. His hand went up to his throat and he felt sick.

"Are you all right?" Shinra asked worriedly, leaning forward.

Masaomi shook his head. "Can't lie."

"So . . . don't?" Shinra suggested.

The blonde slumped into a chair and took a couple of deep breaths. "Harder than it sounds."

'No lying at all?' Celty asked, appreciating that Masaomi was at least letting her type now. He shook his head. 'That could make polite conversation difficult.' Masaomi just snorted. Celty gave him a minute, but he was starting to look tired again and she didn't think they'd have that much longer. 'So the Lady knows how to send the Mask home and didn't tell us?'

"Yep." Masaomi forestalled her next question with a shake of his head. "It's not smart to question gods. Even medium sized ones like the Lady."

"Undoubtedly it's one of those zen things," Shinra said. "You know, because she didn't say anything, we all went into action and a lot of things happened that maybe important to our larger fates!" He sounded very excited about this, and struck a dramatic pose for effect.

Celty administered a hellstab. 'Don't pose.'

Shinra coughed as the air whooshed from his lungs. "Why not? Doesn't it make me look cool?"

'No.'

Masaomi shook his head and them pillowed it on his arms on the table. The excited grin faded from Shinra's face as he looked at the teenager. "Why don't you get a little bit more sleep?" he suggested. "You look pretty tired." Masaomi nodded and closed his eyes, clearly thinking that where he was made a fine napping spot. Shinra got the blanket from where he had left it, and tucked it around the teenager's shoulders. "Well," he said, speaking quietly to Celty so as not to disturb him, "once the others are back, should we go pay our respects to the Lady?"

'I might thump her one.' Celty typed before reaching out to close the lid to the box.

Shinra laughed and went back to what he was doing. The three teenagers came back about forty-five minutes later. All of them were exhausted, but at least Mikado seemed to be in a better temper; he took one horrified look at his stack of schoolwork and immediately dove into it. Anri sat down to do hers as well. Saki stood behind Masaomi, who was still asleep on the kitchen table, and gave his shoulders a little rub. "He woke up?" she surmised.

'Yes,' Celty replied. 'He's getting better.'

"We have a quick errand we need to run," Shinra said from his computer. "We'll pick up some dinner while we're out and see if we can't get Masaomi to eat something when we get back."

Celty slid the box towards her and then picked it up.

Saki looked at the box. "Finally getting it out of here?" She wouldn't be sorry to see it go.

Shinra nodded. "It's got a long way to go," he said, "but every journey has a first step. Or something like that."

Saki chuckled, then looked at Shinra and sighed. "Shinra-san? Ears. No one will believe you're cosplaying a Vulcan."

'We'll have to have Izaya teach you how to hide them.' But for now, she had an easier solution. A black helmet formed in her hand and she held it out to Shinra.

"Oh, good idea," Shinra said, rather relieved that he didn't have to stop to learn a bunch of complicated magic. "We'll be back in a bit!" Celty put her own helmet on and then waved before leading Shinra out. He got on the bike behind her and the ride to the highrise complex where the Lady of the City lived went by in relative silence. Despite the fact that they were, in theory, unexpected, nobody in the pricy building bothered them as they went into the elevator and up to the penthouse.

When the elevator door opened, Shinra immediately began to ooh and ahh and explore the clutter. Celty was too busy being surprised to see Shizuo, sitting at the table and feeding what looked like sunflower seeds to the bird. It squawked at her approach. "Visitors! With a gift! Visitors!"

Shizuo looked up at Celty and Shinra and then shrugged. "I like the bird. It's nice."

Celty raised a hand in surrender. 'You don't have to explain yourself to me.'

"Yes, yes," the Lady of the City said, bustling out from between two stacks of books. "Ah, the gang is all here! Except the troublemaker. Which is probably all for the best. He's off making trouble somewhere, I'm sure. How are you, Celty dear? And you've finally brought your young man. Tea? No, you look like you're in a coffee mood today. Let me see . . ." She disappeared as quickly as she had come.

Celty sat at the table and set the box down next to her. She thought about telling Shinra to stop being so nosy, but then changed her mind. The Lady could do with a dose of Shinra. Besides, it wasn't as if a simple admonishment would stop him. He was leafing through a book that looked older than she was with a fascinated expression on his face.

Shizuo was studying Shinra with the same intensity. "You look better," he finally said.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Shinra said cheerfully. "Better than ever."

"Tch," Shizuo said, turning back to the bird.

'How have you been?' Celty asked Shizuo.

He shrugged in response. "The usual."

'Right.' In truth, Celty felt Shizuo's laconic nature endearing.

The Lady bustled back in, carrying what looked like a small espresso maker on a tray. With a flurry of activity, she moved entire stacks of books, chairs, and Shinra, and eventually had everything set out on the table and gestured for them to sit down. "Ah," she said, looking at the box that contained the Mask. "Every journey has its first step."

Celty suddenly feared for how well Shinra and the Lady would get along. 'Yes. Exactly how much did you know about how events would unfold?'

"Oh, I didn't know a bit, dear, I only suspected," the Lady said. "Either way, my interference wouldn't have made any difference."

'I'm not sure Mikado will agree with that.'

The Lady gave her a clear, even look. "I only see maybes, Celty, only see might-have-beens. If it helps our Taichou at all, you can tell him that there were plenty of alternatives that were far worse."

"Here's an idea: let's not tell him that," Shinra said hastily.

'He won't concern himself with worse alternatives. Just the ones where things could have been better. He is very upset about Masaomi.'

The Lady shrugged carelessly and sipped her coffee. "Masaomi's likely the only one of you who could have worn it and then made the choice to take it off again. Taichou is luckier than he knows. When you see the Universe, it's not easy to look away. All that knowledge . . . but Masaomi knew that he didn't really want to know everything. Masaomi heard Taichou's voice and turned away."

Celty mulled that over, her index finger tapping at the table. After a moment she relented and took a mug to wrap her hands around. 'And now, because he wasn't greedy, he gets what everyone wants from the Mask, but doesn't have to pay the price.'

"Basically, yes," the Lady said with a nod. "And not to sound mercenary, but that might prove rather useful to Taichou in the future."

"He would never use his friend like that," Shizuo said, not looking up from the bird.

'Shizuo is right. But Masaomi also will sometimes offer anyway. He's like that, I think.'

"Let's face it," Shinra said, amused, "Masaomi-kun has hardly been asking permission before saying whatever the hell he feels like."

'. . . Alarmingly true.'

"So!" The Lady clapped her hands. "All's well that ends well. And I will see that our Mask here gets safely back to its original owner. You have my word. He will be very happy to see it return, I'm sure."

'And Masaomi should continue to recover?' She wanted a firm answer. Mikado and the others needed it.

The Lady in the City looked at her over the rim of her mug. "What did I just tell you, dear?"

"That you only see maybes and might-have-beens," Shinra answered promptly.

"Precisely. Gauge the situation with your own eyes. You certainly don't need my help to tell you what you already know. Now . . ." She turned to Shinra. "What to do with you? Someone's going to need to teach you some things shortly."

Celty felt like pouting. She didn't _have_ eyes currently. But there was no point. The Lady was the Lady. 'Izaya can teach him about glamours, but I'm at a bit of a loss after that. Do you have any advice?'

"Oh, well," the Lady said, sipping her coffee, "it's always best to go back to the source."

Shinra sighed. "Let's just make sure we never mention this to my father."

'Ever,' Celty agreed.

oOoOo

Masaomi knew something was . . . off. He couldn't say wrong because it wasn't wrong. Promises had been made, and they were being kept. So nothing was wrong exactly. But maybe he wasn't quite right yet either.

He knew he was messing things up. Forgetting to eat, sleeping in the wrong places at the wrong times, staring at nothing. Even though, in his mind, there was something there. Or would be. But there was so much in his mind now, things that didn't have time for food, things that moved easier when he was asleep. Sometimes he would stop talking in the middle of sentences, but he couldn't help it. He was being shown so many new things that sometimes he had to leave a thought behind to catch a new one. They were slippery like that.

It worried Mikado. Saki and Anri too. It worried them into frustration, but it worried Mikado into pieces. That was true. If there was no Masaomi there would be no Mikado. That was also true. And new to him. It wasn't new to Mikado but it was new to Masaomi. It was also true that without Mikado there would be no Masaomi. That was old news, but still very true.

He stared out the window, hand pressed to the glass. There was so much out there, so many true stories. It spread through his perception like a woven blanket or a piece of orchestral music. He stood in the middle of it and turned around, looking at and hearing things no one else could see.

Here and now was solid and whole and a pleasant hum of music. But here was a very small place. A bubble of the world made safe by Celty's magic and the people looking after him. Outside the warm blanket turned ragged and the calming hum started to rattle as parts of the music fell away, unable to reach him.

He had to get out.

Somehow, he wasn't sure when he had moved, he ended up standing in front of Mikado, rocking back and forth on his heels, toes curling in his socks. He shook his head once to clear it because talking to Mikado like he had a functioning brain was important. "I need to get out."

Mikado blinked at him, then said, cautiously, "Out?" as if he didn't have a functioning brain at all. Which made sense, given that he had barely slept for the past several days.

"Out," he repeated, and looked at Mikado expectantly.

"O-Oh," Mikado said, getting to his feet. "Okay. Where do you want to go?"

Now it was Masaomi who blinked. Wasn't out good enough? He just needed to get the world to stop rattling. Clearly it wasn't good enough. "Not here." That was really his only criteria. But he thought maybe he should try to explain. "It's rattling and won't stop until I go out."

Mikado didn't think he had the slightest idea what that meant, but from the way Masaomi was fidgeting, it was obviously unpleasant. He took a deep breath to ground himself and said, "Okay. Why don't we go to Russia Sushi? We could get something to eat and say hi to Simon."

Masaomi shrugged. One place was as good as another. "Sure." He stepped back and headed towards the door, then paused midstep because he was thinking about Simon, and that was a lot of story he hadn't known before. But still. "Simon's nice. Okay."

"Do you want me to call the girls and have them meet us there?" Mikado asked. He wasn't sure what he thought of the idea. Both of the girls had been worried about Masaomi, of course, but the blonde seemed to do better when there were fewer people around. Of course, how this made a trip to Russia Sushi anything but a terrible idea, Mikado wasn't sure either.

Masaomi tried to wrap his mind around that question, to find an answer. The universe liked giving him answers. "Saki's busy with . . ." Well, he wasn't sure, things fell apart too soon. "Saki things."

"Okay." Mikado managed a hesitant, almost painful smile. "Just the two of us, then."

Masaomi started heading towards the door then, because he _needed to get out_, but walked backward. Mikado's smile was a sad smile. He didn't like it. "It promised. It's fine." Because that was true too.

The last time Masaomi had said 'it promised', Mikado had tried to ask exactly who had promised what, but the answer he had gotten was so nonsensical that it had only made that dull ache in his stomach worse. He wasn't about to ask again, and said only, "Ah, Masaomi, your shoes – "

"Yes?"

"You're not wearing any," Mikado pointed out.

"I like socks." He let this percolate and rattle around for a moment since Mikado was wearing a look that was half exasperation and half sadness. It rattled and then clicked. They were going out; shoes were needed. He plopped down and pulled them on.

Relieved, Mikado turned and called out, "Celty-san? Shinra-sensei? Masaomi and I are going to go out for a little bit. He needs some fresh air."

Celty appeared from the other room, walking and typing at the same time. 'Wait a moment.' She handed the PDA to Mikado and did something with the shadows at her fingertips. A second later, she gently took Masaomi's hand and wrapped what looked like a black leather bracelet around his wrist. It fit snugly without being tight.

Masaomi blinked at it and then at her. "I won't get lost."

Celty took back the PDA. 'It'll make me feel better.' She was pretty sure that she had had experience with faerie-touched crazy humans before, though the details weren't in her memory.

"I'll stay close to him," Mikado promised her, his hand hovering tentatively near Masaomi's, like he wanted to take him by the wrist but wasn't sure how he would react. Masaomi watched Celty for another long minute and then reached out and took Mikado's hand. Mikado jumped slightly, but then managed another one of his nervous smiles. "We'll be fine," he told Celty, wishing that he believed it.

Masaomi grinned. "We'll be great." Because he needed to get out. And it would eventually all sort itself out. The weave would fill in and the rattling would turn to music.

Mikado grabbed his green and white jacket, though he didn't bother to put it on. It wasn't too late, and it was still warm outside. He watched Masaomi carefully as they took the elevator down. He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. Masaomi followed along docilely enough until they left the building and the circle of Celty's influence. Then he stopped cold. It was suddenly so _loud_. Mikado stopped when he stopped, his hand tightening on Masaomi's. "Are you okay?"

Masaomi's free hand came up to cover his ear, even though it didn't help. The other hung on tightly to Mikado. His eyes squeezed closed. "It's loud."

"Do you want to go back in?" Mikado asked, wishing that he had any sort of clue about how to handle this.

Masaomi shook his head, blonde hair whipping. "Just have to wait. The rattle will be a hum." He could hear it starting to sort itself out. Just a little.

"Oh . . . okay."

"Yes," Masaomi said brightly, one eye cracking open. After another moment, he adjusted to the noise that wasn't there for anyone but him, and then started to tug Mikado along.

Mikado went along willingly enough, biting his lower lip as he struggled to decide whether or not he wanted to ask his question. "Hey . . . what's it like?"

Masaomi turned to look at him for a long moment. "The Universe?" he asked, like he wasn't quite sure that was what Mikado meant. Then he said, "Yeah, the Universe." He reined his mind in as best as he could. It was a little easier now that the din was starting to settle and the holes were filling in. It was disturbing before. Big blotches of _empty_. But Mikado had asked a question. It was important to answer questions just right. "Loud. Rattling like . . ." He looked for the right word. "Discord. And parts are empty. Like you could fall through to _nothing_." He smiled then. "But it'll be music soon. It'll be amazing."

Seeing that smile on Masaomi's face, Mikado finally managed a real smile of his own. The expression felt a little odd after so many days without, but it was genuine. "Okay," he said. Without thinking, not even caring that they were now standing on a street corner, he wrapped his arms around Masaomi's waist and hugged him hard. "I hope it's amazing soon."

Masaomi was startled. He hadn't seen this coming, but something out there that sounded a lot like words in the slowly resolving noise told him that he was an idiot and he should have. He hugged Mikado back. "It promised. It'll be okay."

"It . . . the universe promised?" Mikado asked, not letting go.

"Uh huh." He pressed his nose into Mikado's neck and thought that this was pretty nice, really. The noise was getting better, less jarring.

Mikado blushed, but made no attempts to push Masaomi away. "Did the universe tell you anything else that I should know about?"

Masaomi thought about that. There were definitely words. He scowled against Mikado. "That I need a therapist." He was pouting like only a crazy person could.

"The – the universe says you need a therapist?" Mikado asked, startled into pulling away slightly.

Masaomi was still very definitely pouting. "Yes."

Mikado bit down on his lower lip. Hard. It didn't help. The first snicker escaped him a few moments later. "Is – is that supposed to be a surprise?" he managed, and then broke out into gales of laughter, unable to help himself.

The sound of Mikado's laughter shifted the noise just enough that he could now hear rhythm and pattern to it. It felt more steady and his head cleared a little. It wouldn't last all the time yet, he knew, but he thought it would come and go until it finally stayed. "You're all mean to me."

"I – I just – I'm sorry but – " Mikado was laughing so hard that he had to use the wall of the building to stay on his feet. He fumbled for his phone. "I have to text everyone I know and tell them that the universe says you need a therapist – "

"What? No!" Masaomi dove for the phone.

"Hah, yes!" Mikado was holding it above his head, texting unerringly despite not actually being able to see the keyboard.

"Give me that." Masaomi made a grab for it, and when that failed, he pounced and began tickling Mikado's ribs, though he was careful to avoid the still-healing injuries.

Mikado let out a yelp of laughter, aware somewhere in the back of his mind that they were on a public street (though fortunately a quiet one) and making quite a scene. He had a feeling that a week ago, he would have tried to put a stop to it, but he couldn't bring himself to now. It felt so good to laugh, and even better to see Masaomi acting like his old self. He yielded the phone with good grace; he could always send the message out later. He would put it up on the Dollars forum in big letters. 'Breaking news: Masaomi needs a therapist.' Saki would get a real kick out of it. The very thought made him start laughing again.

Masaomi clutched the phone in one hand and Mikado's shirt in the other, laughing helplessly. "See?" he said in between. "_Amazing._"

"I guess the world really is an amazing place," Mikado said, feeling like he truly appreciated it for the first time. He remembered Izaya telling him to learn to enjoy every day life, rather than just trying to escape it, and wondered if this was what he had meant.

Masaomi grinned. "It is. It really, really is." He sobered some then. "I can't hold on to this all the time yet." He waved at his own head. He didn't want to ruin the mood, but he wanted Mikado to understand while he was making sense.

"I . . . I kind of figured." The smile faded, but didn't completely disappear. "I think that's okay. Even when you're not . . . all here . . . I'll still be here." He took Masaomi's hand and squeezed it again. "With you."

Masaomi just threw in the towel then, leaned over, and kissed Mikado's cheek. "It'll get better, though. It's just taking time, that's all."

"Okay." Mikado let out a breath. "But . . . I want to tell you something, and I want to be sure that you understand it, I mean _really_ understand it." He looked up and met Masaomi's gaze. "If you ever sacrifice yourself to save me, I won't be saved."

The statement hung in the air for a moment. Masaomi looked at his friend, watched the threads as they wove around the words, a pattern of truth that could not be denied. Without Masaomi, there would be no Mikado – at least, not Mikado as he knew him. After a long moment, he nodded. "Okay," he said.

"Okay," Mikado repeated. He seemed satisfied. "Do you still want sushi?"

"Yeah. But I'll probably be weird by the time we get there." He could look ahead now. See where the music would fall apart. He would fall apart with it, but it would sort itself out.

"You're always weird," Mikado told him, and poked him in the ribs.

"Weirder," he said with a laugh and a swat at Mikado.

"Then you'll fit right in at Russia Sushi," Mikado said, determined not to let this stop them in their expedition.

Masaomi stops and looks thoughtful. "I'm trying to decide just who you insulted there. Me or them."

Mikado wasn't really sure either. He was basically just saying whatever popped into his mind; it seemed like a good way to keep up with Masaomi in his scattered state. After a few moments of thought, he firmly stated, "Yes."

Masaomi laughed. "Now that's talent."

"Exactly," Mikado said. He started walking again, though somewhat hesitantly, waiting to see if Masaomi would keep up with him. Now that he seemed to be a little more lucid, he decided to ask again. "Do you want to see if Saki-san and Anri-san want to meet us there?"

Masaomi grabbed his hand again and shook his head. "Saki's busy and Anri is . . ." He stopped walking, looking up and into nothing, going vague for a moment, then shaking off. "Doing something. I dunno."

"You don't have to know everything," Mikado told him.

"It would all be so boring then."

Feeling a little emboldened by the fact that he had gotten a somewhat coherent answer to his last question, Mikado asked, "Well, why is it that you know some things and not others? How . . . how does all this work? I know you took off the Mask before you could see _everything_ everything, but why is it that you know some things and not others?"

Masaomi pondered this. He actually had to figure the answer out for himself before he could tell Mikado. "No one can know everything. It's all there," he said, throwing one arm out in a broad gesture. "But it's threads and themes. I have to follow or I get lost." Which he realized he was doing a little. Things were starting to fray again. He forcefully pulled himself together. "I have to know where to start."

"So it's just like trying to figure things out in the real world," Mikado said, "only a lot more so."

Masaomi nodded. "And I can sometimes see what hasn't happened yet."

"I wonder how that works," Mikado said, almost to himself. "Is it because you actually _know_? Or is it because you know so many of the pieces that you can draw things out to their logical conclusion . . ."

"That's what you do," Masaomi said, shaking his head. "That takes skill."

"Does it?" Mikado asked, blinking at him.

"Are you insane?"

Mikado wasn't sure what the right answer to that question was. "No?"

"Then why are you asking 'does it?' Of course it does."

Mikado rubbed his hand over the back of his head and let out a somewhat embarrassed laugh. "I guess I just don't think of it that way? I mean, it doesn't seem difficult in my head. I just . . . look at all the pieces until they all line up in my head. It's not like I have to think that hard."

"And so modest!" Masaomi said, though he was just teasing.

"Shut up!" Mikado protested, now acutely embarrassed.

Masaomi laughed, because Mikado was so oblivious to how special he was, and would continue to be oblivious for years and years. He could see it. It was funny now and it would be funny then.

"Let's talk about something else," Mikado said, feeling grumpy. Russia Sushi was just around the corner, and he could already hear Simon assuring the passersby that trying it just once wouldn't kill them. A stunning endorsement, it was not. Mikado often wondered what genius had put Simon in charge of trying to pull in customers.

"Like what?" He could talk about anything. There were so many options all rattling against each other waiting to be seen and heard.

"What do you want to talk about?" Mikado asked, seeing the expression on Masaomi's face and reading it correctly.

Masaomi startled at that and then shook his head. "I can't decide. It's all there. It wouldn't be fair to pick."

"Oh . . . okay," Mikado said.

He wasn't quite sure where to go from there, but fortunately, at that point they rounded the corner and Russia Sushi, along with Simon's rather imposing presence, came into view. Simon spotted them as they walked closer and smiled congenially. "Ah, hello! Masaomi, it's good to see you up and about again. You're well now, I hope?"

"I was never unwell." He looked confused. He felt confused. "Nothing was wrong."

"Masaomi," Mikado reminded him gently, "you were unconscious for two days, remember?"

Masaomi shook his head. He didn't remember. He wasn't awake for it. But still . . . "Maybe not _right_ but not wrong either."

"Well," Simon said, still smiling, "as long as you are well now, that will be enough to satisfy me."

Masaomi looked at Simon flatly for a long minute and then smiled brightly. "That's the truth."

Simon's smile never faltered. "Make sure you try the scallops today! We just got them in fresh and they're excellent!"

"Thanks, Simon," Mikado said, ducking his head slightly.

Masaomi made an appreciative noise and went where Mikado wanted him to go. Mikado steered him into the shop, and stopped when he saw the four familiar people sitting in one of the little rooms. He wasn't sure that Masaomi was up to dealing with Kadota and his weird little gang, but he was very sure that he should say hi, particularly after Kadota had helped him get the Dollars organized for this latest adventure.

Masaomi stopped when Mikado did and took the opportunity to survey the new view of the world. The music was gone, but he knew it would be back. And the weave had changed. It was unusually tight and solid, though the pattern was crazy-looking. Even the universe thought Yumasaki and Karisawa were weird.

Mikado waved hesitantly as Kadota looked up, and took a few steps closer. He wasn't eager to have a repeat of the conversation they had just had with Simon, but he wasn't sure how to avoid it, either, until Karisawa pounced on them and said, "You have to tell us all about Shizuo and Izaya's clandestine affair! Nobody else will give me any details!"

"What?" That was so weird it even got through to Masaomi.

"Be quiet!" Kadota said simultaneously, his cheeks flushing pink.

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Karisawa said fiercely. "Everyone knows that you all teamed up to beat the Green Nights, even Shizuo and Izaya!"

"And . . . this leads to . . . a clandestine . . .?" Mikado asked, feeling lost.

"No," Kadota said firmly. "No, it does not. You guys want to join us?"

Masaomi quietly sat down without saying a word. Mikado gave him a rather startled look, then hastily said, "Ah, we'd like that. Thank you." He plopped down next to the other teenager. "And thank you for all your help this week."

Kadota waved this off, having given up on convincing Mikado that his help had been minimal at best. "Glad you're up and around again, Kida."

Masaomi shrugged. "I had to get out."

"I know the feeling," Kadota replied, as Karisawa busily pulled up her photo of Shizuo and Izaya together and started waving it in Mikado's face.

Masaomi snorted, tuning in for real for a second. "Does she know she's wrong?" It was hard to tell with Karisawa.

"Hope springs eternal," Kadota said dryly.

oOoOo

Izaya spun around once in his chair, thinking about the brave new world he was facing.

He had been by to visit Shinra that morning, just to 'check up on him', but also as an excuse to get a gander at how Masaomi was doing after his brief encounter with the infinite. He had been somewhat unnerved when Masaomi had simply _looked_ at him. There had been an uneasy feeling somewhere in the pit of Izaya's stomach that Masaomi _knew_ him now, in a way that no one else did, perhaps even better than Izaya knew himself.

Fortunately for him, as the minutes ticked by and Izaya fake-fussed over Shinra (who was recovered in pretty much every way possible and required no fussing whatsoever), Masaomi seemed to forget he was there, becoming vague and detached and occasionally spouting nonsense while Mikado honest-fussed over him. All of which Izaya found very interesting, especially the type of nonsense he spouted.

Which was what led to him sitting in his office, with his chair readjusted for his puck legs as he had given up the ghost and dropped that bomb on Namie as soon as she had returned (both to see the look on her face and just to make his life easier), spinning around in his chair. Just thinking about things. He was still there when there was a knock on his door. He waved vaguely at Namie and she stood up to answer it as he shrugged back into his human glamour.

The door swung open soundlessly, and Izaya waited to hear who it was, but Namie didn't say anything, and after a moment, he heard a familiar voice said, "Good afternoon, Yagiri-san." Izaya glanced up to see Namie stone-faced as she stood back and let Mikado and Saki enter. He grinned at them and gestured for them to come all the way in.

"Social visit?" he asked, surprised to see them together but not betraying that emotion. He wondered who was staying with Masaomi while they were on this field trip, which undoubtedly was not to check on him.

Mikado and Saki glanced at each other. Then Saki said, "We wanted to speak to you."

"By all means, my fine protégé," Izaya said, waving lazily. "By all means."

"Privately," Mikado added.

Izaya lifted his eyebrows. He looked at Namie. She glared at him. After an interminably long moment, Mikado turned and looked at her, too. Her glare did not lessen. She held his even gaze for the space of a few heartbeats, then abruptly announced, "I'm going to go get some coffee," and left the office without another word. Izaya was impressed. He hadn't known it was possible to stare Namie down; certainly _he_ hadn't won any of the staring contests she had initiated with him, though that was mainly because he never felt like putting in the effort.

Mikado waited until the door had closed behind her before turning back to Izaya and said, "First of all, we wanted you to know that we're not angry with you about what happened to Masaomi."

"Oh?" Izaya laughed. "Well. That takes a burden off my mind."

They ignored the sarcasm. Saki said, "We know that you and Shinra have been friends for a long time, and you were trying to save him. Either of us would sacrifice you to save Masaomi, so we feel it's only fair that you were willing to do the reverse. So, we aren't angry."

"Great," Izaya said. "Since you said 'first', I assume there's a 'second' which is nowhere near as friendly."

"You know what Masaomi is now," Mikado said. "I saw the way you were looking at him."

This surprised Izaya as well. Mikado had seemed so preoccupied by making sure Masaomi wasn't walking into walls that he had never so much as spoken to Izaya during the entire hour that he was at Shinra and Celty's apartment. Izaya knew quite well how observant the teenager was, but he hadn't expected he was paying any attention to him. "Okay," he said. "So?"

"So, if you ever try to use him, or sell the information of what he is and what he can do to anyone else, we'll destroy you," Mikado said.

It was put simply, with no malice: a simple business transaction. Izaya could tell by the flat way he phrased it and the blank look on his face that he meant every word. Oddly enough, he enjoyed the threat. He liked seeing that steel backbone that lived underneath Mikado's quiet exterior; it transformed the teen from one of the most boring people Izaya had ever met to one of the most fascinating.

"Okay," he said again.

"So you agree?" Saki's voice was sharp and her gaze sharper. It was obvious that his easy acceptance unnerved her.

"No," Izaya said. "Not exactly. I'm not going to make any promises. That's partly because apparently breaking promises is a big deal to fae, but to be honest I wouldn't have even if I wasn't or didn't know that. I respect you both too much to do that. The day may come when the need to use or sell that information may outweigh your threat. What I will say is this: I have heard your threat, and I acknowledge that either one of you is capable of carrying it out, let alone both of you put together, and should the day come when I choose to use the information, I'll do it in full knowledge of what's going to happen to me afterwards. And then I'll try like hell to make sure that it doesn't happen."

Mikado and Saki gave each other another glance. A lot was clearly exchanged in that one look without them having to speak a word. Izaya felt a flicker of amusement. Working together, Mikado and Saki would be damned near unstoppable; adding in Masaomi and Anri made things even more frightening. And they were only sixteen. He had created a monster. "Okay," Saki said. "That seems fair."

"Thank you," Mikado added.

Izaya considered them for a few minutes. "How is he?"

"He's fine," Saki said.

"He's amazing," Mikado added, a slight smile touching his lips.

"Then it all works out," Izaya said, spinning once in his chair.

"I guess you could put it that way," Mikado said, though his lips tightened somewhat at Izaya's cavalier disregard, his attitude that the outcome was all that mattered. "But how long do you think it'll be before Celty-san figures out what actually happened in there?"

Izaya's chair rolled to a stop. He said nothing.

"Because if _we_ figured it out – both of us, individually, without having to put our heads together," Saki added, "it won't be long before she recovers from the emotional shock enough to start thinking about it herself."

Izaya regarded them both, particularly the expressions on their faces. Mikado's was still blank. Saki was smiling her usual sweet smile. "What, exactly, did you two 'figure out'?" he asked.

"C'mon, Izaya-san," Saki said, now laughing. "Yes, Shinra-sensei is your friend. Yes, you wanted to save his life. But it wasn't just that. You had to have been desperate to try to use the Mask on the Founder of the Dollars. You needed the fastest solution possible because you _knew_ that the knowledge to save Shinra was probably in Celty's head, and you _knew_ that if he died and she found out later that you could have saved him by giving back what's rightfully hers anyway, she would come after you in ways that even you can't imagine."

"You used Masaomi and me to protect yourself," Mikado continued. "You didn't want Celty-san thinking about what could have happened. Right now, Shinra-san's okay so Celty-san doesn't care about her head. But the day is going to come when she does care, Izaya-san, and the day is going to come when Celty-san puts the pieces together just like we did. And on that day, not even being one of the Dollars is going to save you, so you'd better start thinking about exactly how soon you want that day to come."

Izaya smiled at both of them. "Was that a threat?" he asked.

"Yes," Mikado said.

"I see." Izaya leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. He let the glamour drop. Neither of them flinched. "You might want to start thinking about everything that's happened in the past year and how it all fits together. Things have worked out pretty well for you, from what I've done. You were never going to have the balls to tell Masaomi-kun or Anri-chan about who you really were, and the same goes for them. Now, because of what I did, it's all out in the open and you can all work together. And as a bonus, Masaomi-kun pulled his head out of his ass and apologized to Saki, and now the two of them can live happily ever after. Or the three of you. Or four. Whatever. I don't judge."

Mikado's expression never changed. "I don't care," he said.

"Oh?" Izaya asked.

"I don't care," Mikado repeated. "When I was talking with Kadota-san about the Dollars, he told me that nobody gave a damn about my intentions. Maybe that's true, but personally I find intentions just as important as the outcome. You didn't _mean_ for any of that to happen."

"You don't know that," Izaya pointed out.

Mikado waved this aside. "It wasn't your primary goal, at least; maybe you considered it as a possible contingency but that's as far as it ever would have gotten, because the truth is that you never wanted Masaomi to be with Saki-san, and the fact that she likes him more than she likes you is always going to sting, which is why you're such a jerk to him."

Izaya laughed. "Those are some interesting conclusions, Mikado-kun," he said.

"I stand by them," Mikado replied. "You're nowhere near as subtle as you think you are."

With a shrug, Izaya continued, "Anyway, disregarding all that, it's still true what they say about intentions. The road to hell is paved with good ones."

"Yes," Mikado said, "and I bet the road paved with bad intentions leads somewhere even worse."

Izaya studied him for a long moment, then laughed again. "Point, set, and match."

Mikado turned around and walked out. Saki smiled at Izaya and said, "See you around," before following him, linking her hand in Mikado's as the door swung shut behind them.

Izaya's chair spun, and spun, and spun. He looked at the ceiling. Life just kept getting more interesting. It looked like it was going to be a good year.

oOoOo

~finis~ 


End file.
